Keitaro's Friend
by Chaos Argate
Summary: What if, on the fateful day that Keitaro arrived at Hinata-sou, a friend of came with him? Some characters may be OOC, as the story is told from my character's POV unless stated otherwise. This story is based on the Manga, rather than the Anime.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

This is my first fic I've written, so I don't exactly expect it to go all that well. Reviews are appreciated, even if you don't like it.

***

"Is it anywhere near here?" I asked Keitaro.

"That's strange…" mumbled Keitaro. "It should be around here…"

We were lost on the streets of Tokyo near the hot springs district. Keitaro failed the Tokyo U entry test for the second time and got booted out of his home for having a "foolish dream", as described by his parents. As for me, well I figured a change of locale would be good for me. I'd grown tired of my old neighborhood and decided to tag along with my pal Keitaro.

My name is Chaos Argate, and I am a 16 year old male freshman in my high school class. I too am going to try and get into Tokyo U, although I won't be taking the entry test until next year. I think they'd bar me from taking it because I'm too young, but I don't care, I'm at the top of my class, I'd probably get top marks on the exam. We had been walking for about a day now, carrying pretty much anything we would need to be away from home. I had a moderately sized duffel bag and Keitaro a rather large backpack. We were dressed in what we were wearing when we left. Keitaro had on a plain, white, button-up shirt with black slacks; and I, a black T-shirt emblazoned with my favorite metal band and black jeans. In addition to his outfit, Keitaro also had on a pair of very thick glasses. Keitaro's brown hair was fashioned in a very clean-cut, the kind that people think of when they hear the word 'nerd'. Mine, not similar to Keitaro's at all; my jet black hair wasn't cut, just very long, wild, and my bangs hung over my right eye.

"This must be it." Said Keitaro, snapping me out of my trance, "the inn that my grandma owns."

"This is it?" I questioned after gazing at the building. "This is Hinata Inn?"

"It should be…" mumbled Keitaro, walking through the front door.

'Huh, an inn like this should have more tourists around it…' I noted as I looked around. "H-h-hey! Wait for me!" I shouted while running up to catch up to Keitaro.

"Hello..?" called Keitaro. "Is anyone home? Grandma, it's your grandson Keitaro and his friend Argate-san. Something happened back at home and we were wondering if we could study here and maybe have a room?"

"Dude, there's no bellboy here?" I asked, looking around at what seemed to be the main lobby.

"Huh? Now that you mention it, where is the bellboy? Or grandma?"

We decided to look around the lobby. We couldn't find any clues of where Keitaro's grandmother went, so we weren't going to be finding out where she was anytime soon.

"Dude, should we wait in your grandma's room until she gets back?" I asked, pointing at the sign that said 'MANAGER'S ROOM'.

"Sure, it's better than sitting around all day in the lobby." He replied.

We walked into the room, pushing the doors away, staring at the size of the room.

"Whoa… this room's huge!" I exclaimed, in shock of the size of the room.

"Hello? Anyone in here?" Called Keitaro, yet again. "I guess not." Sighed Keitaro, dropping his stuff by the small table in the center of the room. He sat down at one end and I sat at the other. "Jeez, my parents are freaking dumb, always treating me like a fool… Absolutely no faith in me."

"Another rant about your parents?" I whimsically asked.

"You know what they said to me?" asked Keitaro, apparently ignoring my question  
"Something that sounds like they have no faith in you?" I replied, almost bored out of my mind.

"They said that even if the Earth was destroyed, I couldn't get into Tokyo U." He stated.

"Umm, that's…. kinda harsh, dude" I replied, holding back a witty remark. "Look, right now your average is what, like 48 or something?; you suck at English; your Math, Literature, History, and Biology isn't all that great either, so I think your parents have a point." I replied.

"Yeah, well even though I'm terrible at all of that, it doesn't mean that I'm not good at something!" exclaimed Keitaro.

"Dude, it's not just school; you're bad at sports, you don't look all that attractive, and no special talents either. I'd say you're an average Joe at best." I claimed.

"Ugh, you know, I hate it when you're right. I can't think of anything about me that would attract girls to me… it's hopeless!" shouted Keitaro. "Ahhh…" sighed Keitaro, "I really wish I could go out on a date with a girl… Even talking to them would be nice…." Dejectedly sighed Keitaro.

"Here we go again." I mumbled. I met him when I was a freshman, but he's told me of his many failures with girls in the past years. Even back in Kindergarten, they all avoided and mocked him. During sports events, he was a benchwarmer, and at the annual ritual dance, his partner was always male. After I met him, he seemed to get a bit luckier with girls, but they only started sitting next to him in class, nothing more. He's also got a weird hobby of collecting photo stickers from those photo booths. His whole album is full of stickers of himself. I think I'm in one of them, but I'm not too sure.

"ARGH!! I MUST GET INTO TOKYO U AT ALL COSTS!" shouted Keitaro, angrily ruffling his hair. "OTHERWISE I WILL NEVER GET A GIRLFRIEND!"

Oh yeah, _that_. Keitaro's got this… obsession of some event of 15 years past, where he promised some girl they'd both come to Tokyo U together and fall in love and live happily ever after… or something like that.

"I wonder what happened to that girl all those years ago…" I asked a now calmer Keitaro.

"I…. don't know. I can't remember much about her, not even her name." replied Keitaro, lifting himself off the ground."

"Goin somewhere?" I inquired.

"Just gonna take a walk." Replied Keitaro as he walked out of the room.

Well maybe that'll clear his head a bit. Come to think of it, this inn was on the hot springs street, wasn't it… Maybe I'll go take a dip later. With that thought I leaned against the wall and started to doze off.

"EEEEEK! HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" cried a voice not too far away, waking me out of my nap. The voice sounded rather… feminine. "PERVERT! THERE'S A PERVERT!" shouted the voice. Yup, that is definitely a woman, or girl. I decided to leave the room and look around.

"EEEK! ANOTHER PERVERT!" shouted another voice, much younger than the first.

"Wha?" I turn around and notice a small, very tan girl shouting and pointing at me. "Wait, no, stop! This is a mistake!" I tried to correct the girl, but the damage was done, and a few young women begin to appear at the end of the hall….. along with a rapidly fleeing nude Keitaro. Fearing the worst, I started running in the opposite direction, following Keitaro. "Dude, what's going on?!?!" I shouted at Keitaro

"I don't know, we're being branded as perverts apparently!" replied Keitaro.

Seeing no other path, we fled to the roof, where we were met with a dead end.

"EAT MY ATOMIC PUNCH!" Shouted a girl with brown hair, dressed in a school uniform. She launched her fist forward, aiming it between Keitaro's eyes. An oddly familiar samurai-girl came up and slashed at me with a wooden sword. Pain shot through my face as the wooden blade connected with my cheek bone.

"H-hey, stop, we're here to stay at this inn." I pleaded to the girls, who had just sent Keitaro flying off the roof.

"What do you mean, 'stay at this inn'…. There's no point in lying when we've caught you red-handed." Replied the brunette. "This place _was_ an inn a long, long time ago. But now, it's an ALL GIRL'S DORMITORY!

"Girl… Girl's Dorm?" I questioned in shock.

"S-sorry about this, neither me, or my friend knew this place was converted into a girl's dorm…" I reasoned.

"It doesn't matter, you'll come with us to the police station now." Replied one of the girls, not caring about my side of the story.

"Gah, fine, I've no choice anyways." I muttered with gritted teeth.

"You've got a lot of guts, sneaking into this dormitory." Said the brunette.

"Jeez, what's going on, first I find my nephew naked outside, and now I hear all the commotion up here?" Asked an older, dark haired woman, clad in a black apron over what seemed to be her casual clothes, smoking a fresh-lit cigarette in her mouth.

"Eh? Nephew?" asked a few of the girls in the mob in front of me amongst themselves.


	2. Chapter 2: Negotiations

Thank you for the review, Major Powell. Always good to hear a little praise on a first fic. ^_^ Looking back at your review, I fixed up whatever seemed a bit off in the first chapter, taking your comments into consideration. As for your question, well I can't say I'm fond of NaruXKeitaro, so I'm kind of a Naru basher, but since this story's heavily based on the Manga (I literally look through the manga as I write), I'm gonna have to show it.

***

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" shouted the angry brunette. Keitaro and I had just asked Keitaro's Aunt Haruka and all of the dorm's tenants if we could get two rooms at the dorm. We had come down off the roof and we were now all at what seemed to be in a lounge.

"Please…" pleaded Keitaro, "We just need to stay here for a little bit. We had no idea that this place was now an all girl dorm…"

"I said NO! and that means NO!" shouted the brunette.

"Damn, that's cold. You know he's the owner's grandson, right?" I asked.

"Those are two completely different things! This is an all girls dorm! I'd never allow perverts like you to stay here for even a day!" shouted the brunette, who was about ready to claw either my or Keitaro's throats out.

"You're labeling me as a perv too? I barely did anything!" I shouted in my defense. My cry was unheard as the brunette continued to rant.

"Peeping at girl's naked bodies, touching people's breasts, stealing panties, you did so many shameful things! You even let poor Shinobu-chan, who's only 13, look at your junk!" shouted the brunette, pointing at a young, black haired girl. "What would happen if she's traumatized by this?"

"Don't worry about me, I'm ok." Interjected Shinobu. She was dressed in the traditional seifuku of secondary schools. "It was so small, I didn't really see it, I wasn't really affected." Sputtered Shinobu, uttering words that no guy wants to hear. I looked over at Keitaro, who hung his head really low.

"Those aren't words you should use to comfort him, Shinobu-chan." Said a fox-eyed girl with short, blonde hair, dressed in a simple black pull-over and jeans.

"This isn't good." I stated. "We both came here with hopes that we could have a place to stay, so we didn't bring too much money with us…"

"Oh yeah, where's grandma anyways?" asked Keitaro, who had regained his composure. "If she's here, I'm sure she'll let us…"

"She's not here," said Haruka, cutting off Keitaro. "A year ago, she went on vacation to tour the world and she hasn't been back since. Every so often, we do get a fax from her though."

"Touring the world?" shouted Keitaro.

"She may be past the retirement age, but she still wanted to go out and seek romance, or something." Replied Haruka. "She took this opportunity and turned the inn into an all girl's dorm before she left.

"So that's it huh," I responded. "She's not here then,"

Great… I didn't want to go home only one day after I left. My parents were driving me nuts, and now I gotta go back?

"Alright, we'll be leaving now. Men shouldn't live in a girl's dorm." I said, rather dejectedly.

"Sorry for disturbing all of you." Added Keitaro.

"Sorry Keitaro," apologized Haruka, "Living here would have saved you rent money. The commute would be kinda difficult, that's all."

"Yeah… It would have been" replied Keitaro.

"So, you are a student… A Tokyo U student now, right?" asked Haruka. I had to stifle a bit of laughter as it seemed as I remembered that Keitaro failed the Tokyo U test twice.

"Huh?" asked a puzzled Keitaro.

"You're a second year student now, right?" inquired Haruka.

"What are you talking about, Aunt Haruka? These past two years I've always been aiming for Tokyo U…" replied a defensive Keitaro.

"Tokyo U?" asked a plethora of the girls. "TOKYO UNIVERSITY?!?"

"Ye- Yeah.." meekly responded a shocked Keitaro.

"You're a Tokyo U student?" asked one of the girls.

"That's amazing!" said another one of the girls.

"Wai…. Wait…." Said Keitaro. His plead was met with deaf ears as the girls hoarded him with comments of Tokyo U.

"Who cares if he's a Tokyo U student, a pervert is still a pervert." Retorted the brunette.

"What are you talking about? Tokyo U is the top university in all of Japan!" exclaimed the fox-eyed girl. "To enter Tokyo U, you need a really high average, right? From what I recall, you need an average of 69%, so you need to get at least 700 points on the entrance exam…" finished the fox-eyed girl. "Did you hear that?! His average is over 69!"

"That's amazing! Over 69!" shouted Shinobu.

"Is Tokyo U really tasty" asked the tan girl. I had to chuckle at this.

"Huh? That's not my average." Said Keitaro. "Hey WAIT! Please, listen to me!" pleaded Keitaro.

"So what's your major?" asked the fox-eyed girl. I mentally face-palmed. Keitaro was in for some kinda trouble, I figured.

"Huh? Umm… I am studying law for my…" stammered Keitaro.

"Did you hear that!? A Tokyo U law major! He will be a lawyer, or an economical employee for the government!" exclaimed the fox-eyed girl.

I knew it, Keitaro's in trouble now. There's no way he can pass this charade off for long.

"OK!" shouted the fox-eyed girl, "How about we let him stay here and be our tutor? As for you, however…" she trailed off as she pointed to me.

"Jeez, ya can't let a guy like me off easy?" I pleaded, almost sarcastically.

"Nope, you'll be leaving the premises of this dorm. We've no reason to keep you here." Said the fox-eyed girl.

"So that's it huh? Alright, fine I'll leave" I said, getting up. I glanced over at the swordswoman. Now that I had a better look at her, I noticed she was dressed in the traditional, loose-flowing garb of a samurai. "You do seem a bit familiar to me though…" I said while thinking about where I'd seen her before. "Ah ha! I know you!"

"Huh? How? I've never seen… Argate-san? Is that you?" asked the confused swordswoman.

"Yeah, it's me Aoyama-san. Still reeling from that blow to the face earlier, but it's me, Chaos Argate."

"You two know each other?" asked the fox-eyed girl.

"We're in the same class at school," I replied.

"Is that so? So how far below you is he?" asked the fox-eyed girl. She had no end to questions, apparently.

"Tch, he's far below me in our class." Said Aoyama who was glancing away.

"Don't lie, Aoyama-san. I'm at the top of the class and you know it!" I retorted.

"Eh? Is this true?" asked the fox-eyed girl.

"Y…Yes, it's true…" said Aoyama, shooting a death glare at me. That alone sent shivers down my spine.

"Well, you really can't judge a guy by his looks," stated the fox-eyed girl who began to survey me. "He seems so much more like those idiots down the road who blare their music so loud… and yet he's apparently the top student in your class… Well if he's as smart as you two claim, then he can stay and be a tutor as well!"

"Waitwaitwait- What?!" I shouted.

"I've no complaints about that. He's already like a tutor towards me, so this makes things easier for me." Said Aoyama.

"OK! It's settled, the both of you will be staying as tutors!" said the fox-eyed girl, pointing at both Keitaro and I. "This is a girl's dorm, so there's going to be some ground rules. As long as you two're here, if there are any more acts of perversion like before, then the one who committed the act is out of here. What do you girls think?"

"Argate-san will be fine, but I don't care either way. If Keitaro's a Tokyo U student, I guess he's ok.

"Wait a minute, Mitsune!" shouted the brunette to the fox-eyed girl. Apparently her name was Mitsune. "This is a GIRL'S dormitory! We can't just let them in like that!"

"Oh? What do you want to do then? Do you want to throw these two out into the middle of the harsh, cold night?" replied Mitsune.

"This is a sad fate that could happen to anyone… Kicking them out is kind of cruel, is it not?" asked Aoyama.

"How can you be so mean Naru..." said Shinobu, who started to look a little teary-eyed.

"You are a beast, a real cruel devil." Said the tan girl.

"Wha?" shouted the brunette, Naru. Her face grew red with anger, and possibly shame. "Alright already! He can stay!" cried Naru as she caved in.

"In that case," said Mitsune.

"Welcome to… The Hinata Dorm!" shouted everyone, sans Naru, in unison.

"Pleased…" said Keitaro in a near whisper.

"Pleased to meet you all" I finished for him.

The girls then took the time to introduce themselves. The tan girl went first, she was Kaolla Su, and it seemed as if she was just full of energy. Shinobu was next; she introduced herself as Maehara Shinobu. She said she was the cook of the dorm. Aoyama went next, this one was mostly for Keitaro, but I paid attention nonetheless. Her full name was Aoyama Motoko. Mitsune was next, her full name was Konno Mitsune, but people tended to call her Kitsune, because of her eyes. Finally, Naru introduced herself as Narusegawa Naru. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with "perverts" like me or Keitaro. I tried to say that I wasn't a pervert, but she wasn't listening.

I don't know what lies in the future, but I think I might like it here at the Hinata dorms… that is, if I don't get killed by Naru or someone else.


	3. Chapter 3: Training with Motoko

Well Major, my plan for this is to go through the whole manga, so it's safe to assume Mutsumi shows up at a few points. The ending, I don't know if I'll change, but I think I may write an alternate ending as an OMAKE chapter. As for my favorite pairing... either KeitaroXShinobu or KeitaroXMotoko.

Author's Note: There's a little plot point in here that just seemed a little thrown in, so I've gone back to chapter 1 and edited it to seem a little more natural.

***

*YAAAWN* Damn, I needed that nap. After that little ordeal a few hours ago, its nice to be able to rest again. The room I got isn't so bad either. It's about the size of my old room, I think I can adjust. Maybe I'll go raid the fridge for a snack. I went over and opened the door, then I heard a very loud scream coming from my right.

"HEY! WHAT'RE YOU TWO DOING!!!" Shouted Naru. I turned to go look over at what was going on, and it seemed as if Keitaro was caught with his hand on Mitsune's breast. This isn't going to end well.

"ACK!, Uh.." exclaimed a surprised Keitaro.

"Don't you understand the position you're in!?" Shouted Naru. Damn, Keitaro's really in for it now.

"No! That's not it!" shouted Keitaro in his defense. "Mitsune! Tell them I didn't do anything!" Keitaro turned to look at Mitsune for defense, although that didn't work out all that well.

"He kept on saying: 'Can I? Can I?' While grabbing my breasts…" cried Mitsune, who seemed to be tearing up.

"WHAT!?" shouted Keitaro.

The next thing I know, Motoko came up to Keitaro's back and held an unsheathed blade in front of his neck, as if she were going to slit his throat. "Death…" came a whisper from Motoko.

"So… Sorry…" stammered Keitaro.

"Mitsune! Let's go!" Shouted Naru, "Pervert! You Suck!" she shouted at Keitaro. The girls stormed off in a hurry.

"Dude, you just have the worst kind of luck with women." I said to Keitaro after he regained his composure.

"What is this!?" He shouted. "They won't even listen to my explanations!"

"Seems like it. What's up with Naru? She seems to have it out for ya." I inquired. My question went on deaf ears, like quite a few of my previous ones, as Keitaro started to daze off with a dreamy stare. He looked behind him and noticed a box of tissues. He grabbed one, took his pants off, and folded them up. "WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! If you're gonna do that, then would you at least tell me?" I shouted at Keitaro as I left the room. Seein Keitaro have a little dirty fun by himself is definitely something I don't wanna have stuck in my mind.

"Argate-san," said a feminine voice behind me. I turned around and saw Naru walking up to me.

"Hi Narusegawa-san, oh and Chaos-kun's fine. You don't have to use my last name, or the formal honorific." I told her.

"Ok then, um, do you know where that pervert, Keitaro, is? I need to tell both of you something."

"Oh, yeah, he should still be in his room." I told her.

"Ok, thanks." She turned towards Keitaro's door and pushed it aside. "Hey, I need to tell you something about the bathroom…" She trailed off as she realized what he was about to do. I looked over at Keitaro and saw that he was both in shock and in a daze. The next thing I realize, Naru's chasing Keitaro down the hall with a broom. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU PERVERT!?"

I started chuckling at this scene and walked back into my room, which was not that far from Keitaro's, just across the hall from his. With nothing better to do, I began to unpack my stuff. I was just about done storing my clothes away in a drawer when I hear another "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU PERVERT!?" from Naru. I look into the hallway and see the exact same scene from a few minutes before, only this time Keitaro had his pants on. Something tells me that I'm gonna be seeing this scene a lot from now on. Shrugging that thought away, I walked back over to my stuff. After I finished packing my stuff with no real interruptions, aside from my various swords, I decided to go outside and relax in the sun. Keitaro, Shinobu, and Naru are all on the porch as I pass by. Naru takes out a Tokyo U study guide and asks Keitaro to help her study for it.

"If you're really from Toudai, this should be a peace of cake, right?" Taunts Naru.

"Come on, Keitaro, show them what you're made of," I taunted, obviously not expecting him to do well.

"Jeez, Chaos-kun, don't do this to me," cried Keitaro. He began to look over the book and put on a goofy grin. "Alright Naru, the answer to number one is 3 and number two is 2." Huh, didn't think he'd get answers that quickly.

"What! 3 and 2!?" shouted a shocked Naru.

"And then number three is 4, and number four is 1." Finished Keitaro. I just stood there with my jaw down. "How's that?"

"Unbelievable…" I started, "There's no way… You've gotten them all right!?" I shouted, looking over at the study guide.

"Wow! Keitaro! You're great!" praised Shinobu. Naru just stood there, staring at the study guide, obviously in shock. Keitaro, on the other hand, bashed his head on the wall. Apparently, he wasn't trying to get them right.

"D-did you even read the problems?" I questioned.

"He… he didn't read them." Naru answered.

"WHAT?" exclaimed Keitaro.

"I'm inspired!" said Shinobu. "You're so smart! Can I call you senpai?"

"Well, uh… really?" asked Keitaro, who looked more bashful than I've ever seen him.

"Why're you so embarrassed?" questioned a devilish Motoko, holding her blade against Keitaro's neck again. "It's a crime to hit on junior highs…" She has got to teach me how to make an entrance like that.

"So… sorry," Keitaro nervously stammered.

Motoko pulled her blade away and began to watch the ensuing argument between Kaolla and Naru.

"Keitaro, follow me." Said Shinobu, pulling Keitaro away. Resisting the urge to follow them, I went back to my room and grabbed one of the swords I had neglected to put away. As a swordsman, I silently decreed to myself a few years ago that I would not move to a new home or go on vacation without one of my swords. I glanced at the one I had chosen. It was one I had dubbed "The Last Fencer". It was a one-handed broadsword with a golden hilt, and a gem in the middle of the blade that served to add an extra "wave" to the sword.

I started walking towards the backyard, looking for a place to train when I ran into Motoko, who was returning to her room. She said nothing to me and ignored me, but did glance at my sword. I began to walk away, but she stopped me.

"Where are you going with a blade such as that?" asked Motoko.

"Well where do you go with a sword everyday?" I retorted.

"Right…. What you do and what I do is of no concern to either of us." She replied and walked out of my sight. I walked back outside to the backyard and located a good place to train. I had barely began my training when I spotted Motoko approaching in a fresh gi and carrying her sword.

"Hi there, Moto-chan" I cheerfully greeted her.

"Don't call me that." She replied in a deathly tone of voice. "I'm here to gauge how well you are with a blade." She challenged, both unsheathing her blade and pointing it at me in one swift motion.

"If that's what you wish," I called, "Don't hold back!" I finished, also holding out my blade.

With that, the duel began, with Motoko taking the initiative. She was quick with her blade, getting a few quick hits on me with her many fast and elegant slashes, but she didn't expect me to take to the offensive so quickly. A few quick overhead slashes from me left her stunned, but she managed to break out of my combo and began charging what seemed to be energy into her blade. She rushed forward, and charged fast enough so it seemed as she ran through me. A few seconds later, a whole gyroscope of slashes mysteriously appeared out of nowhere and nearly struck me.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, if you're gonna do that, then I might as well go all out!" I called to Motoko.

"Is that so? Well go right ahead!"

I didn't charge energy into my blade as she did, but I charged energy through my blade, nonetheless. My blade looked as if to radiate azure energy as I went on and on with my attacks. As it seemed, the azure energy enhanced my movements as I caught Motoko off guard quite a few times. Unfortunately for me, every time I landed a hit on her, she retaliated with a blow of her own. These exchanges continued on for a few hours, with neither one of us seeming to be weaker than the other.

After a few hours seemed to pass, we called it quits, with Motoko apparently in shock that she had found an equal in mastery of the sword.

"Motoko? You gonna be ok?" I asked her as we approached the building.

"To find an equal in the mastery of the sword…. Its unbelievable…" she muttered to herself.

Well seems like she's in a daze, she'll get better.

"Ah hah! You are a pervert!" shouted Naru, who sprung from the back door.

"Wha- wait, what?!" I shouted.

"Well what else would you be doing with Motoko so far away from the dorm?!"

"Naru, do you see what I'm holding in my hand?" I said, referring to the sword in its sheath.

"Yeah, it's a sword… Huh? You were sparring?" Asked Naru in disbelief.

"Is there a problem with that?" I asked.

"Motoko usually doesn't spar with anyone…" inferred Naru.

Hearing this, Motoko awoke from her trance. "I saw him training out over there," pointing over to our sparring place, "All I did was gauge how well he was with a sword.

"So that's it huh? Well I'm still keeping my eye on you!" said Naru as she walked away.

"Thanks for bailing me out Motoko-chan,"

"It would not do well for me if my sparring partner were injured, would it?" retorted Motoko as she walked away.

Sparring… partner? Those words rang in my mind as I walked back over to my room. It had gotten pretty late, so I decided to turn in for the night and unfurled the futon.

***

For those wishing to see what the Last Fencer looks like, follow this link and look at the sword the pink man is using.

.com/image/last%20fencer%20tales/Tails-X/Forum%20Requests/weapons_zelos_LastFencer_

If anyone can come up with a better description than I can, then please tell me.


	4. Chapter 4: An Exposed Lie

Well then, Major, sure I said I didn't know if I'd change the ending or not, but I think it's safe to assume that I'll not be writing the ending bits so that Keitaro ends up with Naru.

***

"Would you look at that!" were the words that woke me from my slumber. "He starts studying at the crack of dawn." Came the upbeat voice of Mitsune. I got up and decided to investigate. Next door, most of the tenants were swarming Keitaro's room in awe of the fact that he supposedly got up early to study.

"Ah! Mornin," called out Kaolla towards Me, Naru, and Shinobu; who had just walked over.

"Good morning," replied Shinobu. "Wow! Senpai's already working hard! I'm going to work hard too!"

"What are you yelling about?" asked Motoko, whose cool demeanor had faded a little.

Shinobu tried to stammer an excuse as Mitsune chirped in. "I'd better start acting like a girl or I'll get left in the dust!"

"What are you talking about?" asked an unamused Naru.

"Don't you think that since he and Chaos moved in here… This place became so full of life?" noted Mitsune. At this, Naru began to think deeply. "So, you want him too, Shinobu?" asked Mitsune.

"O-o-of course not!" replied Shinobu.

"Is it always this lively in the mornings?" I asked to no one in particular.

"Not usually," replied Kaolla. "It's usually much quieter before Shinobu readies breakfast."

The rest of the day pretty much went off without a hitch, enjoying breakfast with the girls was pretty much the first thing I did. Naru was insistent that I hadn't earned the right to eat with them, but then Motoko stepped in and pretty much convinced Naru I did earn the right to eat with them. After that, I had to get ready for school. I quickly changed into my school uniform. My school uniform is usually a white button up shirt under a black jacket with black slacks, although I never wear the jacket. I usually wear the white shirt open and wear a black shirt under it. Grabbing my favorite pair of headphones to wear around my neck, I finished getting ready and took off for the subway. The school has never had a problem with alterations to the uniform as long as the base shirt and pants/skirt were worn and visible. Motoko was waiting at the front door for me and beckoned for me to follow her.

"Argate-kun, let's go," said Motoko, "We're going to be late if you dawdle any longer."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." I replied. The trip to school was rather uneventful, Motoko staying silent throughout the trip. As the subway stopped at the school's stop, I was swarmed by my friends who were in awe that I came to school with "chaste" Motoko.

"Well, you guys know how I decided to leave home with Keitaro, right?" I asked my friends.

"Of course, it's so unexpected that I couldn't think of anything else!" replied my blonde friend who liked to be called Phal.

"Well Phal, me and Keitaro decided to go stay at his grandmother's inn, the Hinata inn, but it got converted into a girl's only dorm."

"Seriously? So you're staying at a girl's only dorm?" asked Phal.

"Pretty much" I replied.

"How'd you get in?" Phal asked.

"Well Keitaro apparently is believed to be a Toudai student, so they let him in as a tutor. As for me, Motoko-chan recognized me as the top of the class and put in a good word for me."

"Lucky bastard, getting to live with all those women... I'd kill to be in your place," said my oddly blue-haired friend Shinji.

"Alright class, settle down," called our homeroom teacher who had just walked into the classroom. "Argate-san, I heard you moved, so you'll have to go down to the office later to tell the staff your new address."

"Ok, then Sanada-sensei." I replied. School was as boring as ever, although Physical Education was a welcome change of pace. We were starting the Kendo unit in P.E. and I was about ready to let loose.

"Alright students," called out the Phys Ed teacher, Kutagi-sensei. "Today, we are starting our Kendo unit!" This was met with uproarious cheers. I looked around and saw everyone cheering; Motoko even looked a little cheerful. "All of you are to pair up with one, and only one partner! Your partners are to be determined today, and if you cannot find one, I'll find one for you!"

"YES SIR!" shouted the class. I got up and went to go find either Phal or Shinji, but I remembered that I would most likely end up sending them to the infirmary. Looking around at most of the class, just about anyone I partnered up with would be in the infirmary in a matter of minutes. I was about to give up and ask Kutagi-sensei that I couldn't find a partner when someone came up behind me and tapped my shoulder.

"Chaos-kun, would you like to be my partner for the Kendo unit?" asked Motoko.

"Huh? Oh, sure Moto-chan, you're kinda the only person who I can partner up with and not send to the infirmary." I replied.

"Alright then, let's inform the teacher and begin." Said Motoko. "And please, if you wish not to die, don't call me Moto-chan!"

"Sorry, Motoko-chan, kinda easier for me to say Moto-chan instead." I apologized.

Turns out the sparring doesn't actually begin until next week. I glanced over at Motoko, who seemed to be hiding a bit of disappointment. The rest of the school day played out as anyone'd expect. I kinda dozed off during Geometry though, so I kinda got in trouble with the teacher. Aside from that, class ended without a hitch and I met up with my friends.

"So, what's everyone doin after school?" asked Phal.

"Well I'm headin over to Akihabara later to go pick up some stuff," replied Shinji.

"Hey, can I come too?" asked Phal.

"I see no reason why not, you comin too Chaos?" asked Shinji.

"Nah, I'm busy today, maybe some other time." I replied. "Later guys, I gotta go now." I left and headed to the office to give the staff my new contact information. A few glares from the students were aimed towards me as I told them my address was the same as Motoko's, but I shrugged them off and went home. Motoko was busy after school so I made the trip home alone.

Aside from Keitaro, I was home alone and decided to get my schoolwork done early. Gazing over the simple problems, I solved them all with ease and took another nap after I finished.

A knock on the door is what woke me up this time, as I heard a soft voice call "Chaos-kun, dinner's ready," Shinobu was standing outside my door waiting for me to head to dinner.

"Thanks Shinobu-chan," I told her as I started walking to the dining room. I saw that everyone else, sans Keitaro was already there and digging in. Sure, breakfast was delicious, but damn… dinner left me speechless. Shinobu's food was some of the best I've had the honor of tasting. I literally could not stop praising it. Naru was the first to finish; she got up and went into the kitchen. A little bit later, after everyone finished dinner, we all agreed to go surprise Keitaro, who apparently had not stopped studying. Shinobu went back into the kitchen and started preparing rice balls. Mitsune went off to her room to grab a bottle of alcohol, and with nothing better to do, I decided to help make the rice balls.

"Hi, Shinobu-chan," I called to her.

"Eep!" shrieked a surprised Shinobu. She really hadn't been expecting me to show up. She turned around and looked a little relieved when she saw it was me. "Oh, hi there, Argate-senpai."

"No need to be so formal, just Chaos-kun, or Chaos-senpai's fine." I informed her.

"Oh, ok then Argate-senpai," said Shinobu

"This is going to take some time to get used to," I said.

"So what are you doing here in the kitchen?" asked Shinobu, who turned back to the rice balls.

"Well I thought that if we both worked together on the rice balls, we could get them done much faster," I told her.

"Ok, I appreciate the help, but you don't have to," said Shinobu. I'm getting the impression that she's a little shy to strangers. "I can do this myself,"

"Normally, I'd let you, but one, I have nothing else to do, two, you seem kinda lonely doing this by yourself, and three, this is much more fun with someone working with you. Especially if that person is a friend." I told her.

"A friend…?" asked Shinobu.

"Yeah, would you like to be friends?" I asked.

"Well, alright Chaos-kun," replied Shinobu.

"Great, now let's get started on the rice balls!" I called.

As soon as the rice balls were done, we met up with the others in front of Keitaro's room, ready to burst in and give him a welcome surprise.

"YA IN HERE, TOKIYO-EWE?" Shouted Kaolla as she busted through Keitaro's door.

"We've got something for you." Said Mitsune, holding up an alcoholic beverage.

"Um… Chaos and I made some rice balls… so…" Shinobu trailed off as we realized what we had walked in on. Keitaro and Naru were in a position that seemed as if they were in the middle of a game of tonsil hockey.

"Yikes!" exclaimed Mitsune. All the girls were in shock at the sight. Except for maybe Kaolla, who merely looked amused. Shinobu dropped the platter of rice balls, Motoko seemed as if she were ready to kill, and Mitsune was shaking in anger. "Naru! You…"

"Good goin, Kei-kun!" I called to him.

"You've got it all wrong!" shouted Keitaro in defense. "She's the one who-"

"What?! You're the one…" shouted Naru, cutting off Keitaro.

"And you were yelling at me?!" shouted Mitsune. "Hypocrite!"

"Come on! At least listen…" Keitaro trailed off as he realized he poked Naru's breast. This isn't gonna end well for Keitaro. I just know it.

"You…" started Naru, in shock of Keitaro's action. She regained her composure and finished with a loud roar. "GET AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!" shouted a very angry Naru. "FOREVER!" She punched Keitaro with all the force she could muster. Motoko decided to jump in and assist her as well. Amidst all of the chaos, Kaolla walked over to a fallen wallet.

"Hey guys, what's a special-ed id mean?" asked Kaolla, who found and looked through Keitaro's wallet. All the girls stopped their attack on Keitaro and turned to look at the tan girl.

"N-NO!" Shouted Keitaro. "THA-THAT'S!!"

Seeing Keitaro's unlucky break, I decided to leave the room. I didn't wanna do anything that could possibly compromise Keitaro's situation even more. Seeing how late it was, I decided to turn in for the night.

The next morning, everyone gathered outside to see Keitaro off.

"Lying about your educational status and shameless actions with members of the dorm… There's no excuses." Remarked a cold, remorseless Motoko.

"What! You're not from Today after all!!!" shouted Kaolla

I looked around and saw Shinobu by herself over at by the fence. She musta been really hurt by Keitaro.

"According to the rules, you have to move out of the dorm right away." Said Motoko. "If you have anything to say… say it now."

"Everyone… I'm sorry to have deceived you." Said Keitaro, "The truth is, I'm not smart at all… I've never been together with girls… when I'm around you girls, I feel so happy that I can't bear to tell the truth about myself. I don't know how Chaos-kun does it, but he's probably better suited to living here than I am. Even though I was only here for a few days, I was still very happy… Thank you all." Finished Keitaro. "Goodbye"

With that, he turned and left. The other girls went inside for breakfast, sans Naru. I didn't think it'd be a bad idea to see him off later, so I decided to follow him.

"HEY! Kei-kun! Wait up!" I called after him.

"Hmm, are you leaving with me?" asked Keitaro.

"I'm just here to see you off, but, hey, I'll get ya some last memories of this place. Let's go." With that, we began to walk down the stairs into Tokyo.

"What should I do from now on?" asked Keitaro.

"Well Toudai didn't seem such a bad idea when you were at the dorm, but… I don't know…" I replied. We continued to walk for a little while until something caught Keitaro's eye.

"Wow, it's a photo booth… Should I take a picture?" Keitaro asked.

"Why not? Take a last memory of this place before you leave." I answered. I stood outside the booth as Keitaro took his photo. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Naru sneaking into the booth right before the photo was taken.

"It's better that a grown man like you doesn't take pictures by himself…" said Naru to Keitaro.

"Wah! Why're you here? Are you here to make fun of me?" cried Keitaro.

"What are you talking about?" asked Naru. "Umm, what's up with these pictures? They're all shots of you by yourself…" I can only assume she's looking at Keitaro's album.

"Don't look at it! Give it back!" demanded Keitaro.

"He wasn't lying about never being with girls." I told Naru at the bus stop. Right now, we were waiting for Keitaro's bus to take him away for good.

"What do you plan to do from now on?" asked Naru, "You have nowhere to go, right?"

"Yeah…" dejectedly replied Keitaro.

"Home's probably the first place you should go." I told him. "Probably would suck to say 'sorry' to your dad so quickly."

"What about Toudai?" asked Naru.

"If I give up now, then what I said to Shinobu would really be a lie. I'll do my best to get in." said Keitaro, full of determination, or at least as much as he could muster.

"Really?" I asked.

"Well then… Good luck!" cheered Naru, sticking one of the newly made stickers onto Keitaro's face.

"Wha-What's your problem!?" shouted Keitaro. "Although, I'm glad you came here…" said Keitaro to Naru. "My dream of taking a picture with a girl finally came true." Keitaro said with a face that just radiated with happiness. "And there's this promise I made fifteen years ago."

"15 years?" asked Naru.

"It's a long story, I'll tell ya later" I told Naru.

"Hey, Keitaro, is that you? What's up? Going outside again?" said a voice from behind us. We all turned around and saw that the voice came from Haruka. "Well I see you getting pretty intimate with Naru…"

"THAT'S NOT IT!!" shouted a defensive Naru.

"Haruka, the truth is, Keitaro's decided to go back home." I told her.

"Please say goodbye to grandma for me…" added Keitaro.

"Really? In that case, forget about going home… I just got a fax from Grandma and something big's happened…" said Haruka, taking out a pile of papers.

"What?" asked Keitaro. Haruka handed over the stack of papers. I glanced at them with Keitaro and Naru and questioned why Keitaro had just received land property papers.

"Land property papers? What are they for?" asked Keitaro.

"They're for the entire piece of land." Answered Haruka. "It's all for you Keitaro."

"Huh?" questioned Keitaro.

"She said that everything within Hinata Sou… will belong to you." Finished Haruka. "Under the condition that you become the dorm manager."

The three of us just stood there dumbfounded. "What?" is all we could manage to say.

Which is how Keitaro became the manager of the dorms.

"Hey, girls!" I called to everyone. "There's a big announcement for everyone!" All the girls came down to inquire about what was going on. "This dorm's getting a new manager," I explained, "and he's waiting outside right now."

"A new manager? The dorm's getting a new manager?" questioned the girls. I walked outside first to cue Keitaro on for his introduction. The girls followed suit, and stared in shock at who it was.

"My name is Keitaro… Nice to meet you all."

***

Well I don't think I'll be goin over 2 chapters a day, so I think this'll be the last one of today.


	5. Chapter 5: The New Manager

"My name is Keitaro… Nice to meet you all." Were the words that came from the new landlord's mouth. Less than a minute later, Motoko, Mitsune, and Kaolla were chasing him down the stairs with a vicious look in their eyes.

"I WON'T ALLOW IT!" shouted Motoko. She clearly didn't approve of Keitaro staying here.

"What can I do about it…" cried out Keitaro as the pursuit went on. A little while later, after everyone had calmed down a bit, Mitsune was the first to raise a complaint.

"WHY THE HELL IS A BOY GONNA BE THE LANDLORD OF A GIRL'S DORM?!" was the complaint. "He lied about being a Toudai student!" was her reason supporting the complaint.

"And he's a peeping tom and a panty pincher!" was Motoko's complaint.

I looked over at Keitaro in disbelief. "What the hell did I miss?" I asked him.

"Now that you mention it, he saw me naked and touched my boobs…" trailed off Naru.

"And he's a pedophile!" chirped in Kaolla.

"Clearly, I have to keep an eye on you more clearly." I told Keitaro.

"For what? So you can peep too?!" Interjected Mitsune.

"Nooo, to restrain him from doing all of that!" I told her. 'and maybe do a little bit of peeping of my own,' I silently added.

"Well, they're grandma's orders." Said Haruka. "What can we do about it?"

Hearing this, all of the girls huddled together to apparently decide on Keitaro's fate.

"H-hold on. What about grandma…?" asked Keitaro.

"Well, she was the caretaker before you were, so I assume that because it was her who put you into power here, they're thinking about whether they should let you stay or not." I told him.

"That's likely I guess..." said Keitaro.

"…It's ok, we understand." Started Mitsune as the girls finished their brief meeting, "We now accept you as the new caretaker."

"Look at that, you're a caretaker now," I said to Keitaro with a whiff of sarcasm.

"Wha.. Is it true?" questioned Keitaro. The girls began to walk towards the dorm, save for Shinobu. "Where are you going all of a sudden?" cried out Keitaro as he vainly tried to stop the girls. He realized that Shinobu hadn't left to go in the dorm. "Sh… Shino…" started Keitaro. He was cut off as Shinobu ran away from him.

"Dude, rejected by even a 13 year old, I think this is an all time low for even you." I taunted.

After school ended, I went to go see Keitaro in his room. "How strange… Their sudden change of attitude, and that Nana entrusted me with the dorm… What's on her mind anyways?" rambled Keitaro to himself.

"Be glad you can at least live here, be thankful to your grandma for this. Oh, and dude, ya gotta stop talking to yourself so much. Makes ya seem kinda creepy" I told him.

"WHOA!" shouted Keitaro in surprise. "Dude, don't come up on me like that!"

"Sorry, just came in to talk and you were rambling again." I said in my defense.

"Well I got a lot to think about," said Keitaro in his defense.

"Well think about this. The job of a Girl's dorm caretaker can't be assigned to just anyone." I told him.

"Hey, you're right! Heh heh, I'm getting more and more excited about this." Grinned Keitaro. Judging from the dreamy expression on his face, I'd assume that he's imagining that he might have a little romantic affair with one of the tenants.

"DUDE!" I rapped his head. "Quit dreaming! If you want any of that to actually happen, at least get your studies up! It's already November you've got nothing goin for you at the Toudai exams!" I admonished. As soon as I finished, a knock on the door got our attention. The door slid open to reveal Mitsune.

"Hey Mitsune," I called to her.

"Keitaro," said Mitsune, who seemed to ignore me, "I have a favor to ask of you. Come here a second, will you?" Asked Mitsune, beckoning for him to follow. Keitaro got up to go follow her, and with nothing better to do, I followed suit.

"'Come with you', Where to exactly…?" asked Keitaro.

"The Hot Springs." Answered Keitaro.

"The Hot Springs, eh?" I questioned. "Keitaro, behave yourself in the Hot Springs and don't do anything rash." I mockingly said.

"Come on in," said Mitsune, beckoning for both of us to follow her. "Keitaro, take off your clothes. Chaos-kun, you don't have to do anything."

"Hey, hey, wait a minute!" cried out Keitaro, trying to resist Mitsune's advances.

"What are you saying? These clothes make you clumsy. How can you do anything with these on? Hmm?" cooed Mitsune.

"Looks like your luck is finally changing, Kei-kun. Lemme know how it all works out." I said, about to leave the room. Just before I left, I looked back and started laughing at the sight that met my eyes. Keitaro was standing there, dressed in a stupid looking t-shirt, a pair of latex gloves, shorts, and carrying a bunch of cleaning supplies.

"Alright Keitaro, now that you're all changed, you can start now." Said Mitsune.

"S-start w-what?" I asked in between bouts of laughter.

"Start cleaning the hot springs, of course." Answered Mitsune. "You have to do it all by yourself." Commanded Mitsune.

"Wait! Can't Chaos-kun help me out?" asked Keitaro.

"Now why would he do that?" said Mitsune, leading the two of us out to the springs. The other girls were already here, fully dressed. "This is a caretaker's job, isn't it?"

"Isn't that what you're expected to do?" asked Motoko.

"Cleaning up is one of the duties of a caretaker." Added Kaolla.

"Or maybe you were expecting something else." Teased Mitsune, "Go on, say it, say it!"

"O-of course not!" stammered Keitaro.

"Pervert," chirped Kaolla.

"It's ok if you don't want to do this, you just gotta give up your responsibility as caretaker if you don't do this," offered Mitsune. Now I see what this is about. This is all a ruse to rid the dorm of Keitaro.

"What? No, I understand, I'll clean it up right away." Said a defeated Keitaro. Keitaro began to sweep the whole hot spring area. "Jeez, this is huge…" puffed Keitaro, obviously running out of steam. A few minutes later, Keitaro was practically out of breath, as he was gasping for air and wheezing at the same time. "*wheeze* I'm…I'm done…" said Keitaro, who collapsed out of exhaustion. Mitsune kneeled down to inspect the ground.

"You missed a spot," chirped Mitsune in a singsong voice. "Do it over!" commanded Mitsune. From here, the girls just continued to pick on Keitaro. He was forced to clean up several times, with the girls finding trash that "mysteriously" appeared in places that I thought were pretty damn clean. Even when I took a look and saw that the place was spotless, the girls just piled on more clean-up work. After this last set of work, the girls all went inside. I couldn't bear to see Keitaro do anymore work, so I went in too. I had some homework to do from earlier today anyways. I had just walked into my room and sat down near the table in the middle as I heard a knock on my door.

"Chaos-kun, are you in here?" asked a sharp female voice.

"Yeah, I'm in here," I replied. "Um, who is it?"

"It's Motoko, can I ask for some help with the homework?"

"Sure, come in." I called. Motoko came in and sat down at the table opposite me. "Alright, so what'cha need help with?"

"I don't need help," said Motoko. "I've heard that studying with a partner was a more effective way of studying, so I came in here because you're at the top of my class,"

"Makes sense, I suppose. Well, pick something to start on, and we'll work from that." I said. It turns out that she hadn't started either, so we got to work on her worst subject first. Her worst subject was English, but only by a slight margin compared to her other subjects. As we went over the subjects, my pencil wouldn't stop moving, as opposed to Motoko, who had to stop a few times to get a few questions in order. We had just about finished when an ear-splitting screech was heard.

"KYAAAA!" The screech came from Keitaro's room, so me and Motoko ran towards there. Mitsune got there first and burst through the door.

"What was that sound?" was Mitsune's question.

"Is it Su again?" was Motoko's question. Apparently no one had actually looked at the scene before asking questions. The sight that beheld all of us was Keitaro with his boxers falling off his rear end suspended in mid-air.

"D-dude, if you're gonna somehow suspend yourself in midair, at least put your clothes on!" I shouted before falling out of laughter.

"YOU IDIOT!" shouted Naru from the hole in the ceiling where Keitaro was suspended from. "YOU STILL HAVE THE GUTS TO PEEP!" I couldn't stop laughing, but I had a pretty damn good idea of what was going on.

"OUCH!!!" cried out Keitaro. "YOU'RE KILLING ME!" were the words that confirmed my theory. Keitaro must've stuck his head through the hole, intending to get up to that room and repair the hole. What he didn't realize was that Naru's room was above his, and she musta been changing as he poked his head through the hole. Naru musta been really miffed with him this time to have to choke him from mid-air, but hey, I'm havin a blast down on the floor.


	6. Chapter 6: Unwanted Manager

Well major, I'd assume you'd not want to invoke the wrath of someone who can lift your idiot friend quite a few feet off the ground, up to the next floor and still manage to pummel the crap out of them. Even though Chaos's skill matches that of Motoko, it's still not a good idea because the other girls are there too, and micromanaging a few girls who are attacking you at once isn't a good idea. And if you think last chapter was bad, this one'll amplify it, even though its much, much shorter.

***

After I had calmed down in my room after Keitaro's little mid-air adventure, I heard the odd sound of polishing outside.

"HARDER!" commanded Naru from outside. I looked outside and saw Keitaro pushing a rag along the floor.

"What's goin on, Narusegawa?" I asked.

"This floor's filthy, so I got Keitaro to clean it." She answered.

"Alright, it's done, Narusegawa…" puffed Keitaro.

"Ok, come with me," she beckoned. "I have something else for you to do."

"Keitaro, today is just not your day. With the tone of her voice, I'd say this isn't gonna be pleasant." I warned him as we followed Naru.

"Keitaro," started Naru as we walked outside, "I want you to repaint the outside wall!"

"Damn, you really must want this to be painted if you want him to do it so late at night." I remarked. "Either that, or you want a certain someone out of here."

"Dinner's ready everyone!" called out a young voice I knew belonged to Shinobu.

"Alright! Dinner's ready, come on Kei-"

"Let him finish his work first," cut off Naru with a cold demeanor. "The caretaker should put his duties above himself, should he not?"

"I really don't think tha-" I was cut off as soon as I saw the death glare from Naru. "Err, never mind. Sorry Keitaro, looks like you'll have to finish before dinner,"

"At least save me some for later!" called Keitaro.

"I'll try," I replied as Naru began to drag me in for dinner by the collar. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, Naru, would you mind letting go?"

"Why should I?" asked Naru. "How do I know that you're not going to go back and help Keitaro?"

As if responding to her inquiry, my stomach let out a prolonged growl. "That's how." I replied. "I'm starving!" With that, I shook Naru off my collar and walked to the dining room. My mouth watered at the sight before me as I took in the sight of dinner. It was one of those dinners where everyone had a bowl of rice and there were a bunch of side dishes to add on the rice. "Wow, Shinobu, did you cook this all by yourself?" I asked the young girl.

"Yes I did, Chaos-kun," she happily replied.

"Wow, Shinobu, you've really outdone yourself this time!" exclaimed Mitsune.

"I can't wait to dig in!" called Kaolla.

"Looks, and smells good!" commented Naru.

"Well I know cooking like this is an art, but it'd be a shame to let this art go to waste," I told the girls who were all admiring the food. I sat down and waited for the others to sit before I began to eat.

"Uhh, guys? The food's going to go cold if you don't eat." Said Shinobu who had sat down. Motoko had also sat down; she must've been hungry to ignore how great the food looks. Soon the other girls had sat down and we began to eat. Truthfully, I hated rice, although Shinobu does something with it that just makes it completely appetizing.

"Can anyone pass the soy sauce?" I asked while scooping the shrimp into my bowl.

"Sure, here you go, Chaos-kun," said Shinobu.

"Thanks," I said as I began to pour the sauce on my food. I forgot how much time passed, but just as we were almost out of food, Keitaro stumbled in the room.

"I-is there more food?" asked Keitaro, "I'm already starving!"

"Here, take it…" said Naru, handing him a cup of noodles and a pair of disposable chopsticks. "That one's yours. And boil your own water." Added Naru as she stormed off in a huff. If this were an anime, I swear, everyone would have that odd sweat drop on the back of their head.

"Dude, Naru reeeeaally has it out for you for some reason," I said to Keitaro after everyone else had left.

"I know, but I don't even know what I did… At least I can enjoy a simple cup of instant ramen…" dejectedly sighed Keitaro.

"Yeah… enjoy your meal," I said, having nothing better to say. "Oh, and don't use the hot springs water for your broth." I added.

"Why would I...?" Keitaro trailed off half-way through his question.

"Don't ask, I got lazy one day on vacation, grabbed a pitcher of hot springs water and heated up some cup noodles with it; not so smart. It tasted like crap and gave me indigestion." I interjected. "Later dude, I gotta set up a shower for my room." I walked out of the dining room and got to work. Or rather, I found an empty closet in my room and cleared it out to be a shower and realized I forgot to go buy the shower parts. "Damn, gonna have to head to Shibuya later for the parts."

"NOOOOOOO!" Screeched Shinobu from what seemed like the hot springs. "AHHH!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" shouted one of the girls. "TAKE THIS! AND THAT!" and with that, came the sounds of a violent beating, most likely aimed at Keitaro. I'd sure hate to be in Keitaro's position now. Pushing that thought out of my head, I unfurled my futon and turned in for the night.


	7. Chapter 7: Rematch

Ya know major, Chaos really could soften up Naru a bit, it probably isn't a good idea, especially considering that she's friends with most of the dorm, and they could all assault him at once. He'd much rather interfere in battles that haven't started yet rather than ones that are already goin on anyways.

I think I might've gone a little overboard writing this chapter, but oh well, too late now.

***

I was finishing my preparations for school when I heard a voice from outside my room.

"Chaos-kun, are you trying to be late or something?" called Motoko from outside my room, rapping on my door. "Come on! Hurry up!"

I walked over to my door and opened it. "Jeez, Motoko, I didn't know you cared so much," I sarcastically remarked. "It's only… holy crap we are gonna be late," I said in shock when I realized what time it was. "Alright Motoko-chan, there's no time to waste! Let's go!" I shouted to her, dashing out of my room after grabbing my briefcase.

"Hey, wait up!" called Motoko as she dashed behind me, easily keeping up. The dash to the train station was pretty hectic, with one question lingering in my mind. 'I know something was keeping me from going to school on time, but what was it?' I was even about to collapse as we got on the train. As we arrived at the school, I realized why I didn't know why I didn't go to school on time.

"It's a day off today, you two." Said one of the janitors. "We're doing a clean-up of the school and we'll open in about three hours. Didn't they announce it yesterday?" questioned the janitor, lighting up a cigarette.

"Did they?" asked Motoko.

"Yeah, I kinda remember them announcing it before I left yesterday… Oh well, sorry to have bothered you sir," I apologized.

"Oh, no problem at all," assured the janitor, "I was actually on my break, so I'm not losing any time." Chuckled the janitor as Motoko and I left. We had walked back to the subway station and were waiting for the subway as I decided to initiate a conversation.

"Well Motoko-chan, how about we go back to the dorm and spar for a bit?" I asked.

"Let's see if you've improved since we last sparred!" taunted Motoko.

"Alright then, it's on!" I replied as I accepted her challenge. At this, the subway arrived, as if on cue.

"I'll have you know I was going easy on you last time," said Motoko, as if she were trying to intimidate me.

"Hey, what happened to 'don't hold back'?" I questioned, thinking back to our first sparring match two days ago.

"You honestly expected me to go all out against someone I've not sparred against?" retorted Motoko. "If that's all you can muster, then you have no chance against me!"

"Ha! You think that scares me?" I taunted. "You haven't even seen my full power!"

"Weren't you the one who said 'Don't hold back'?" questioned Motoko.

"I never said I was going to go all out," I retorted. Motoko was about to taunt me even more, but the train operator called out our stop and we had to get out. We walked back towards the dorm with no further taunts or challenges, merely idle conversation about random subjects. We parted ways once we had entered the dorm, agreeing to meet in the same place we sparred last time in 10 minutes.

I walked into my room to change out of my uniform and put on a fresh outfit. I quickly found one of my heavy metal t-shirts and a pair of black jeans, the outfit I usually wear when school's not in session. I slipped that on and dug around my duffel bag where I stored my swords and pulled out the Last Fencer. I strapped the sheath parallel to my waist and walked outside. I saw none of the tenants at all on my way, so I'd assume they're all at school or something. I reached the sparring area and sat down under a tree to wait for Motoko. Fortunately, my wait wasn't long, as Motoko approached a few minutes after I sat down; she had changed into her usual gi and hakama and looked ready to fight, sword in hand.

I pushed myself off the ground and got up to greet her. "Well Motoko-chan, the foreplay's done, now it's time for the main course!" I declared.

She held her blade out in front, as she did last time. "So it is…" she started, "Well then, let's not delay this any longer!"

I unsheathed my blade and held it up to meet hers, so that the blades would form an X. "Good. Come on!" I shouted, beginning the battle.

Motoko wasted no time and immediately sent out a barrage of quick hitting slashes, all of which I either dodged or blocked with my sword. Unlike last time, I couldn't find an opening with which to attack, so I abandoned any idea I had about going about this duel as I did last time. I had decided to meet each and every one of her attacks by attacking in the opposite way; if she attacked with an overhead slash, I'd counter with a horizontal cut and vice versa. This tactic seemed to work as she was caught off guard after the third counter, but then she retaliated immediately with the familiar gyroscope of slashes that she used last time. I had to flip over backwards just to dodge that, but as soon as the gyroscope faded, I jumped forward and lunged forward, retaliating with my own barrage of attacks.

My first actions consisted of regular overhead slashes, but then I tried something new after the 10th slash or so. After that slash, I started spinning my blade in the palm of my hand, lifting it, and whatever unfortunate beings that may have gotten caught in the rotation, Motoko included. I stopped the rotation after about 3 rotations, but then I started up with even more attacks. The next one being a lifting slash, which made sure Motoko was off the ground and in the air, and then a piercing stab. As soon as I pulled my sword back from the stab, Motoko started up another set of slashes that were sure to make most normal people cower in fear. I rolled out of the way of these and lunged forward. Motoko already saw ahead, as she instantly turned and blocked my strike, continuing her barrage from there, now managing to get a few hits off me because I was caught off guard quite a few times.

"Had enough yet, Chaos-kun?" taunted Motoko.

"You kiddin?" I whimsically responded, "I'm just getting started!"

I began to charge up the azure energy into my blade again, but I was stopped by Motoko.

"Not this time! Demon's Seal!" shouted Motoko as she performed a graceful slash, one that I could not block as it wasn't a physical one, rather it was an energy slash that passed through me and severed the azure energy flow.

"What the hell?" I was in disbelief as my sword lost its azure radiance.

"There's no chance you'll be able to pull that on me again!" shouted Motoko. "I've learned to seal off any malignant energy so as to weaken my opponents!"

"Heh, nice work," I commented, "But can you stop this!" I stopped blocking at that moment, but Motoko's slashes had no effect. I reared my sword back in preparation for a large slash. Motoko saw what I was doing and tried to stop it, but wasn't able to as I let out my slash, which was strong enough to stop anyone in its path. As soon as the slash connected with Motoko, I jumped back and (from Motoko's perspective) faded from sight. I reappeared a second later in front of Motoko, slashing twice and fading away again. All while chanting "The infinite blaze of the Last Fencer, break through the dark and bring about a new era of light!" As soon as I said 'light', I appeared about 5 feet from Motoko and rushed forward in a motion that seemed as if I glided through her until I was another 5 feet from her. As I stopped, I cried out, "Final Fencer!" and my own variant of Motoko's gyroscope appeared, with Motoko caught in the middle. "How's that!" I called after the gyroscope faded.

"Tch, pretty good, but I'm not done yet!" cried Motoko, who had difficulty getting up. She ran up to me and launched me into the air with a quick swipe of the blade. Then she raised her sword, pointed it at me and let loose a cannon of energy from it. From what I could see, it seemed as if it were a dragon's mouth. I tried to block, but the dragon passed right through me, inflicting pain for every excruciating second that it was passing through me until I finally passed through the tail. As soon as I passed, Motoko called out "End of Days!" and collapsed, presumably out of weariness. I fell from the sky, only managing enough strength to hold out my sword, blade down to break my fall. When my blade touched the ground, I flipped myself right side up and landed…only to promptly collapse in a tired heap next to Motoko.

"Looks like you weren't kidding when you said you weren't holding back." I puffed out after we had regained our breath.

"Same… same to you." Replied Motoko.

"I think sparring with you's one of the better things I've done in recent years." I panted.

"Not… not as good as my sister, but perfect for me…" mumbled Motoko as she passed out.

"Maybe I'll just rest a little longer…" I mumbled to myself as I passed out.


	8. Chapter 8: Ordinary Days

The way I'm goin with this now, I'm just puttin in a buncha filler, I believe... This counts for some of it.

***

The rest of the day passed without incident, aside from Mitsune's teasing of Motoko and I for how we ended our sparring and another misunderstanding between Naru and Keitaro. The next day, during P.E., the students were finally allowed to touch the swords. They weren't much, just generic wooden swords that can be bought in any hobby store. Along with the swords, we were all given a prep course in what proper form looks like for Kendo. I was about ready to doze off when they called me and Motoko up for a demonstration.

"Argate, Aoyama, I want you to try and block my strikes, one at a time!" commanded Kutagi-sensei.

"Alright then, who's goin first then?" I asked.

"Well, to be polite to the lady, you're first, Argate. Now then, if you paid attention to the lecture, you'll know how to block what I throw at you. I'm not going to hold back here, so it's vital that you block." Decreed Kutagi-sensei.

"Whatever works," I shrugged. As soon as we both were in a battle stance, he began his 'assault', which consisted of very basic slashes and cuts. If this is 'all out' for him, then I'm sorry to say he has no chance against me or Motoko. I continued to step backwards to avoid the blows, until I decided to actually block. I held out my wooden weapon as he swung his weapon. I caught the blade, and retaliated by pushing him backwards. To finish the deal, I pointed my sword at his throat, as if to say, "I win."

"V-very good, Argate. Although I don't remember teaching you that… Alright Aoyama, your turn." He said. I stepped off the platform and Motoko went up to take my place with a face full of amusement at Kutagi-sensei's pitiful performance. They started, and Kutagi was met with the same success he had when it was my turn. "Aoyama…? Argate…? Are you two already familiar in the art of Kendo?"

"We spar every so often, it shouldn't be too much a surprise we know it." I replied.

"I knew I should've picked another pair for the demonstration…" muttered Kutagi-sensei. "Well class, there you go, that's the blocking and countering class." At this, the school bell rang. "Alright class, that's it for P.E. today, enjoy the rest of your day."

The next (and final) class, Geometry still was bland as ever, although we did get a test back from a while ago. Mine was at the top of the class, with a score of 98 points; Motoko's, barely missed the top by 2 points. Now that I think of it, Motoko's scores were always trailing behind mine by a margin of no more than 5 points. Might've explained why Motoko was embarrassed to say that I was at the top of the class to the dorm tenants a few days back…

The final bell of the day rang as I was thinking through what I got wrong on the test. I went over to Phal and Shinji to talk about random stuff, as we usually do afterschool.

"Well guys, how'd ya do this time?" I inquired. I had forgotten to look at their scores.

"Not too bad by my standards," replied Phal, "I got an 80!" cheered Phal.

"Awesome dude, that'll be somethin for your folks at home! How 'bout you, Shinji?" I asked.

"I did ok," replied Shinji.

"Well, lets see then," Phal interjected. "Gimme that!" said Phal as he swiped Shinji's test from him. "Whoa, not too shabby there…"

"Huh? Lemme see!" I said as I moved to look at the score. It was 84. "Wow, pretty good for you," I remarked.

"Finally, all that work paid off," sighed Shinji.

"Yup, now the challenge is: can you keep it up?" I taunted.

"Well-" said Shinji before he stopped to think. "I don't know if I can, but I will try," replied Shinji.

"Yeah! That's the spirit!" I exclaimed.

"Now if only I could get your scores," wondered Phal.

"You can do it Phal, I know you can," I looked over at the clock and realized that I had to go. "Later guys, I gotta go now." I told them.

"Ok, later man," said Phal.

"See ya," said Shinji. I walked over to the door when I was stopped by Motoko.

"Motoko-chan, you usually don't stop me on my way out," I said.

"Well, I wish to know if you would like to walk home together today." Inquired Motoko.

"Alright then, Motoko-chan, and can I please call you Moto-chan now?" I asked as we walked out of the classroom.

"Right now, we're nothing more than sparring partners. You can use the

-chan honorific, but I expect you to use the name 'Motoko'." She said.

"Alrighty then, so Motoko-chan, where to?" I asked, a hint of amusement in my voice.

"Hinata-sou, of course. A small sparring match wouldn't hurt, now would it?" said Motoko.

"No, I suppose not." I replied. "If anything, it'll serve as our Kendo class," I mused, reflecting on the day's P.E. class.

Motoko giggled a little at that comment. "Kutagi-sensei wouldn't know Kendo if either of us taught it to him," she remarked.

I laughed at her joke "Ha, that's a good one," I remarked. We began talking about random subjects again. I was in for a little surprise as Motoko started the conversation this time; I was usually the one starting these random conversations. I think Motoko was beginning to enjoy spending time with me, but I wasn't all that sure. As we arrived at home again, we agreed to meet up at the sparring place 15 minutes from our arrival again.

I got changed into my usual get-up of a heavy metal t-shirt and black jeans, dug out the Last Fencer, stuck the sheath in its usual place on my waist, and headed out to the spot in the backyard. Again, I was first to arrive and I waited a few minutes for Motoko to arrive. "I can see this is gonna be routine for a while, isn't it?"

"Of course, Chaos-kun, now let's begin!" called Motoko, holding out her blade again.

"Heh, let's see if this is gonna be different from last time!" I called, meeting her blade with mine.

This duel wasn't so much different from the last one, the only difference being that we weren't going all out and there was a different aura in the air. Last time there was tension in the air, but this time, the air seemed more playful. We decided to call it quits after about an hour or so to go spend the rest of the day doing something else. Motoko went to the hot springs to relax, and since I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed in there at present, I went up to the 'bathroom' in my room. I had given up on making a shower in my bathroom, so I installed a private bath, not unlike Keitaro's. After I had been content with my bath, I heard Shinobu's call to everyone that dinner was ready. I got out of the tub, dressed in a plain black t-shirt and blue jeans, and headed down to dinner.


	9. Chapter 9: Happy Birthday, Shinobu

Sorry about the long wait for the update, things can get pretty hectic when you're in the middle of moving.

***

"Now this is a meal worth living for!" I exclaimed after sampling Shinobu's meal.

"Wow… DELICIOUS!" exclaimed Mitsune. "Unlike a certain someone's cooking." She added under her breath.

"Who is that 'certain someone' that you are talking about, Mitsune?" asked Naru.

"Great, Shinobu-chan! Let's dig in!" We all exclaimed, save for Shinobu.

"Thanks…" meekly replied Shinobu.

"What should we do this weekend?" Asked Mitsune.

"You're always bored," replied Naru.

"Hey! I'm a freelance worker. Don't treat me like an idiot, my dates are all lined up until next year!" retorted Mitsune.

"Shinobu-chan, what are you doing this Sunday?" asked Kaolla.

"Huh… me? I…" trailed off Shinobu.

"Hey, Shinobu…? What's up? You look a little…" I trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"Weird?" finished Motoko.

"Huh… Oh, nothing much," Replied Shinobu. From there, everyone at the table began discussing their plans. Mitsune was teasing Naru about 'studying' with Keitaro; Motoko and Kaolla've got afterschool activities; and I suppose a day in Shibuya wouldn't hurt for me. Somehow, it seemed a little odd that Shinobu wasn't speaking; just keeping to herself with her meal.

"Alright, I'm done," I said as I finished my meal. I excused myself and went over to my room. I had been given a very interesting document from Haruka-san between dinner and my sparring session with Motoko, and I was dying to read it. Haruka-san said that it was meant for Keitaro, and to give it to him ASAP, but a little peek through it wouldn't hurt, right? I flipped open the cover and began to read. Personal info for all the tenants was the very heart of the document, I noted as I skimmed through the pages. It was sorted in alphabetical order by surname, so I found myself pretty early in the pages. I stopped to see what the document said about me, and found nothing of remote interest to me. It should be said that it was all stuff I knew, but because it was _my_ file, that would be painfully obvious.

Not caring about most of the info, I just skimmed through everyone's file when something caught my eye. I looked at who's document it was and found it to be Shinobu's. The info that caught my eye was her birthday, which was tomorrow. An idea sprung into my mind as I mentally altered my plans for tomorrow. First thing in the morning, I'd have to find Keitaro, I thought as I put the document away and went to sleep.

That next morning, I woke up much earlier than I'd like to on Sunday; it was 7:00 AM. A little shocked at how excited I was to wake up early, I got up and got dressed, not forgetting to grab the document Haruka-san gave to me. I left the room and ran into Shinobu, who was going to the kitchen to make breakfast.

"Oh, good morning Shinobu-chan!" I cheerily greeted her.

"Good morning, Chaos-kun!" she greeted back. She seemed a little happy about something, and I knew just what it was. "Do you know what day it is?" asked Shinobu, almost bursting from happiness.

"Hmm, I'm not sure," I started, trying to tease her, "but I assume that it's a very special day to you," I finished.

"Yup!" said Shinobu, happy that I had at least dented the surface of whatever it was today. "It's my birthday today!"

"Oh, really?" I asked, still trying to tease her, "well then, Happy Birthday, Shinobu-chan,"

"Thank you," said Shinobu.

"Hey, Shinobu, how about I take you somewhere for your birthday?" I offered.

"Where?" Her face lit up even more with excitement, if that were even possible.

"Well I was planning on goin ta Shibuya later, so would you want to come? I'll buy ya whatever ya want for your birthday," I offered.

"Ok then Chaos-kun," she agreed.

"Alright, meet me in the lobby at around noon, and we'll go," I told her.

"Ok, see-ya!" she said as she happily walked off to the kitchen. Alright, that takes care of part of the plan, now where's Keitaro?

I walked over to his door and knocked sharply on it. "Ngh, just five more minutes," said a very sleepy Keitaro.

"Keitaro, can I tell you something?" I asked.

"Huh? Chaos?" asked Keitaro, who seemed to wake up at the sound of my voice. "Oh, sure, come in," he said. I pushed open the door and saw Keitaro sitting up in his bed.

"Keitaro, I need you to do something today," I told him.

"Aww, not you too," said a dejected Keitaro.

"It's not a chore, but I think I know how to patch your friendship with Shinobu," I told him.

"Really? How?" he asked.

"Well, first of all, what day is today?" I asked.

"Today? Umm, as far as I know, it's an ordinary day, isn't it?" he asked.

"Wrong, it's someone's birthday today," I said, throwing the document at him. "Flip through that for a bit and tell me whose it is," I told him.

He flipped through each page, thoroughly reading each and every page. He stopped midway through and looked up. "Sh-Shinobu-chan's?" he asked.

"Bingo," I said. "Now I'm gonna keep Shinobu out of the house for a few hours starting around noon, and I want you to set up a surprise party for her in our absence," I explained.

"You really want me, of all people to do it?" asked Keitaro.

"I'm seeing this as a good way to mend your friendship with Shinobu, so it's better if you did this," I explained. "Alright then, can you do it?" I asked.

"I'll do my best," answered Keitaro.

"That's all I needed to know," I said as I got up and left the room. "Oh, and pretend not to know about her birthday today," with that, concluded everything I can do about the plan; as long as Keitaro doesn't muck up this, everything'll be golden. I headed back to my room to bide my time until breakfast was ready. Popping on my headphones, I pulled out my music player, which doubled as a cell phone, and hit the shuffle button for a random song. My ears left the realm of silence soon after I hit shuffle as the heavy guitars of the song began playing. I left the music player on while I rummaged through my stuff and found a book to read. About half an hour later, I heard Shinobu's cheerier than usual "Breakfast is ready!" Shutting my book, I walked down to the dining room to eat.

"Wow, Shinobu, you've outdone yourself this time!" exclaimed Naru as she walked into the dining room mere seconds before I did. I walked in to see what was worthy of that exclamation and nearly dropped my jaw when I saw what was prepared.

"Damn, Shinobu-chan, this really is something special," I said in surprise when I saw just how much food she put on everyone's plate. It was a traditional American breakfast of eggs and bacon, although every plate had food stacked about 3 inches off the plate.

"Well, I'm sure you guys have something to say to me," bashfully replied Shinobu as everyone else came in and stared in awe of the food.

"Yeah, this looks good Shinobu-chan, thanks!" said Mitsune as she grabbed a seat and dug in.

"That's not it…" said Shinobu who looked a little disappointed.

"Well I'm sure it'll come to them eventually," I assured her. "Now let's eat and not let this food go to waste,"

The food was devoured as fast as humanly possible, with Shinobu looking very disappointed as to how everyone seemed to forget about her birthday.

Breakfast ended as it normally would've, with everybody scampering off to do whatever they would've for the day. As Shinobu was gathering the plates, I stopped her. "Shinobu-chan, let me do the plates, you should go have a little fun before we head to Shibuya," I said.

"No, no, it's ok, I'll do them," she downheartedly said.

"You shouldn't have to work so hard on your special day," I insisted.

"But I don't want to put a burden on you," said Shinobu.

"Come on, just enjoy the day, I'll take care of this," I said. I was trying to make it clear that I didn't want to negotiate.

"Alright then, Chaos-kun," said Shinobu as she sulked off. I was hurt at seeing Shinobu so sad, but I'm sure she'll be feeling much better in a few hours. Finishing up the dishes, I glanced at a clock and saw that it was around 10 AM, leaving about 2 hours to do whatever I wanted before taking Shinobu out. Those 2 hours passed without incident and I walked to the lobby to wait for Shinobu.

A minute later, Shinobu showed up. "Alright Chaos-kun, let's go," said Shinobu, looking slightly happier than before.

"Alright then, Shinobu-chan, let's make this trip a good one!" I exclaimed. We started walking towards the train station, talking about things at the dorm, and how school was, and all of that. "So Shinobu, have you ever been to Shibuya before?" I asked as we waited at the station.

"Umm, I think I might've gone a few times a few years ago," answered Shinobu. "But I'm not sure,"

"Well I'm gonna have ta show ya around, but it'll be fun," I assured her as the train arrived.

"I hope so, I want to forget that everyone forgot my birthday again," she glumly replied. Oh don't worry Shinobu, you'll forget about that soon enough.

"So, Shinobu, what'cha gonna be shoppin for today?" I asked.

"Whatever I see that I like," she replied in a happier tone. "I don't know much of the stores though, so would you mind showing me what would look good for me?"

"Of course, it'll be my pleasure," I replied. "The brands that I think you'd look good in are Natural Puppy and Sheep Heavenly."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think they'd go great on you," I replied. "But let's get some lunch first," I added, noting the time after we got off the train.

"Ok then, Chaos-kun. Where to?" she asked.

"There's a bunch of burger joints, a few ramen shops, a café, and a few hot dog stands around here. Take your pick," I told her.

"Umm, how about… a ramen shop?" she asked.

"A ramen shop it is. This one's a good one too," I said to her as we crossed the Scramble Crossing on the way to Dogenzaka, the street that had the ramen shop in question. "I hope you don't mind a street full of love hotels though,"

"L-l-love hotels?!" exclaimed Shinobu in slight shock.

"Yeah, the street the shop's on's full of them. Pretty much anytime I come there with a girl I get some odd accusations, but they don't bug me," I said.

"Well, I don't mind…" she meekly said, "but those two stores you were talking about aren't there, are they?" she asked.

"Nah, the only shops there that aren't Ramen shops are adult book stores and second-hand shops," I told her.

"We're not going to the second-hand shop, are we?" asked Shinobu.

"Not if you don't want to," I said to her as we turned on to Dogenzaka. "Ok, the shop should be right around… here," I said as we walked in front of the stereotypical-looking ramen shop.

"This is the place?" she asked.

"Yup, best ramen shop in town," I said.

"But what about that place right over there?" she asked, pointing at Shadow Ramen, a nearby competing ramen shop.

"Meh, their presentation's very flashy, but its taste doesn't compare to this place's taste," I explained as we walked in. "Hey! Doi-san!" I called to the owner of the shop.

"Hrm? Who's there?" asked Doi as he turned around from the boiling pots. "Oh, Chaos-kun, didn't think you were gonna be back for a while," said Doi. "Oh, and you can call me Ken-kun,"

"Ok then Ken-kun, I'm in town cuz it's my friend's birthday," I said, pointing to Shinobu.

"Is that so? Well then, happy birthday, little girl," he wished Shinobu. "Just because it's your birthday, the ramen for you's on the house!" he announced. "Miss, uh…"

"Sh-Shinobu, Doi-san," timidly said Shinobu.

"Well, Miss Shinobu, the ramen here's probably some of the best you can get!" boasted Ken. "So, what'll it be?"

"Hmm, I think I'll have a bowl of whatever your special today is," I said.

"Me too!" said Shinobu.

"Alright, two orders of The Big Catch, coming right up!" announced Ken. "Oh, that'll be 800 yen, Chaos,"

"Wait, I thought you said the ramen was free?" I questioned.

"I did. For little Shinobu," he explained.

I rolled my eyes, "Figures, oh well, it's not that expensive," I said as he turned to the pots and started cooking the ramen.

"Chaos-kun, are you a regular here?" asked Shinobu, who was looking around in curiosity.

"He's more than just a regular, Shinobu. He's pretty much my #1 customer!" said Ken without turning from his cooking.

"Is the food here that great?" asked Shinobu.

"It's about on par with your cooking, Shin-chan," I told her.

"Are you belittling my cooking?" criticized Ken.

"What gave you that idea?" I asked.

"Well most girls I've met at Shinobu's age can't cook as well as I can," said Ken.

"You haven't tasted her cooking yet, but when you do, you'll fall into a state of absolute bliss," I said. Shinobu blushed a little at this comment.

"Huh, if it's that good, I'll hafta join you guys for dinner one day," joked Ken. "Ok guys, the ramen's done," said Ken handing us our bowls. "Enjoy The Big Catch!"

I looked at the ramen and was revolted at the sight. There was a giant fish under all of the ramen; there were mushrooms, fishcakes, and other various toppings; and it gave off a slight fishy smell. Shinobu also seemed to be disgusted at the meal. At least her meal was free; I thought as I grabbed a pair of chopsticks and took a bite. My jaw dropped at the mere taste of the food.

"H-how long is this gonna be on the menu?" I asked.

"Hmm? It's one of the random specials of the day," said Ken. "Why? Do you like it?"

"It-It's delicious!" exclaimed Shinobu as she took a bite.

"Finally some people ate it!" said Ken. "People take one look at it and send it back."

"They have no clue what they're missing," I said as I slurped up more and more of the noodles. Beside me, I heard Shinobu eating at a similar taste. We just couldn't get enough! Soon enough, we emptied the bowls of everything, save for the giant fish bones. "H-holy crap…" I said as I finished. "You gotta put this as a regular menu item," I suggested to Ken.

"Please!" begged Shinobu. She musta really loved it.

"Well, if you two like it, then maybe I'll have it as a regular item on certain days of the week," said Ken.

"Thank you!" said both Shinobu and I in unison as we both got up out of our seats.

"Anytime you kids," said Ken. "Come again!"

"Well Shinobu, how was lunch?" I asked as we walked off Dogenzaka.

"That was the best ramen I've ever had!" replied a happy Shinobu. "So where are we going next?"

"Let's go look around for anything you like," I said. With that, we began a tour of Shibuya. We walked all around the district, taking care to avoid some back alleys and all of Udagawa street (it's a bad neighborhood there). I had to pull her away from the Lapin Angelique store because the display windows may have shown some cute clothes, but what they really sell in there are gothic and bondage style clothes. She absolutely fell in love as she saw the selection of clothes at the Natural Puppy and Sheep Heavenly stores. She spent a lot of time looking around in both of the stores, coming to me with some article of clothing she liked. My wallet was filled to the brim because of a bet I won the other day, so I didn't mind buyin all the stuff she brought to me. I did mind carrying all the bags though; she got so much that the bags were huge. By the time we were done, it was about 7 and figured Keitaro was done with the preparations.

"Hold on Shinobu, I gotta make a call," I told her as I set down the bags and walked out of earshot. I dialed the Hinata Inn number on my phone.

"Hello?" said Keitaro on the phone after a few rings.

"Yo, Kei-kun, is everything ready?" I asked.

"Chaos? Yeah, everything's ready. Why? Are you guys coming back now?"

"If we stay any later, I think we'd have a good chance of getting jumped, so yeah, we're coming back. We'll be back in about half an hour."

"Alright, I'll tell the girls to get ready, and I'll see you then," said Keitaro as I hung up.

"Ok Shinobu, it's time to go now!" I announced, walking back to her.

"What? Aww, ok then," she said with disappointment. We walked over to the station and just managed to catch the train back to the Hinata hot springs right before it left. Catching our breath, we unwinded on the train as she happily reminisced on the day's events. As we walked to the top of the giant staircase to the dorm, I stopped as she walked up to the door. She noticed and turned around. "Huh? What's wrong?" she asked, noticing that I stopped.

"Oh, it's just that a few people have something to say to you," I said, cuing Keitaro and the girls, who were hiding in the bushes.

"Huh?" asked Shinobu.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" shouted everyone else as they jumped out of the bushes. Shinobu nearly jumped out of her skin as everyone wished her a happy birthday.

"Well, who would've guessed that Keitaro knew your birthday," commented Motoko.

"He's the one who remembered your birthday and dragged everyone here," said Naru. "He tried really hard to do this, you know."

"Really?" asked Shinobu.

"Well, a little help from me was all he needed," I commented. "He's the one who gave me the idea of taking you out to Shibuya while he set all this up," I lied, hoping that it'd help Keitaro's friendship with Shinobu.

"Oh, it was nothing, really!" bashfully said Keitaro, basking in the glory.

"…Th-thanks… thank you everyone!" heartfully said Shinobu.

"Well Keitaro, I think you've got one more thing to say to her," I said, reminding him of his 'promise' to Shinobu.

"Shinobu, I'm sorry… even though I'm not sure I'll make it to Toudai this year, I'll try my hardest to get in… to make up for my lies to you. So will you forgive me?" asked Keitaro.

Shinobu's smile grew even more at Keitaro's question. "I will Keitaro!" she answered, brimming with happiness.

"Oh yeah, and I bought you a birthday present," said Keitaro as he pulled out a small white box from his coat pocket… along with a pair of bear panties. There was a name visible on them from where the girls and I were standing, and it read 'Maehara Shinobu'. I face palmed as I knew what was coming.

"WAHHHHH!!" cried Shinobu as she dashed into the house. Naru menacingly walked up to Keitaro with her fist reared back. I saw what was about to happen and ran up to shove Keitaro out of the way. I got him out of the way, although I felt the full force of Naru's punch.

"Chaos-kun, stay out of my way!" shouted Naru who was practically dripping with venom.

The pain subsided very quickly (I barely felt a thing), and I spoke up. "I know he pulled something very inconsiderate, but still, you can't lighten up? It _was_ just an accident," I protested.

"Like hell I will!" shouted Naru. "He made Shinobu-chan cry again! He needs to be punished!"

"Just let him off the hook this one time!" I pleaded. "He spent hours getting this together!"

"Hmph, fine, whatever, he's off the hook for now, but next time something like this happens, he's getting a free trip to Shibuya!" conceded Naru as she went inside.

After everyone had gone inside, Keitaro went up to me. "Thanks for sparing me from Naru's wrath," said Keitaro.

"No problem man," I said to him.

"Is there any way I can repay you?" asked Keitaro.

"Yeah, can I not pay rent for this month?" I asked.

***

Shibuya in this chapter is based off the geography of a game that takes place in Shibuya and as such this chapter should not be used as a guide to Shibuya.


	10. Chapter 10: Motoko's Rage

A few days later, on a rainy November afternoon, Motoko and I decided against taking the subway home, instead choosing to walk home. I had no idea why I went along with it, but I did. The only thing that made it worse was the fact that there was a heavy pour of rain that day, and it was still pouring.

"Why are we walking home in the rain again?" I asked Motoko.

"The subways are always more crowded when it rains," replied Motoko.

"Right, but still, we couldn't have put up with it?" I asked. I wouldn't get a reply to my question as some guy came up behind us and attempted to flirt with Motoko.

"Hey, babe, how's about you ditch the loser and go on a date with a real man: me?" asked some poor idiot.

"You guys are starting to annoy me," stated Motoko with a tone of cold indifference. Judging from her statement, I'd say he was walking with friends, and they had been following us, or rather, Motoko, for some time now.

"Huh?" asked the idiot who tried flirting with Motoko. Motoko closed her umbrella and swung it backwards in order to knock the guys behind us down. Motoko then turned around to better see her victims.

"Yikes!" exclaimed one of the three knocked down guys as he realized who we were. I turned around to see why that voice sounded familiar, and whaddaya know? It's Keitaro. "Hey… It's you guys…"

"Urashima Keitaro…" glared Motoko. "Hmph! You failed twice, and you still have the time to chase after girls," angrily gritted Motoko.

"Well what kind of nutcase slices up someone they first meet?" angrily replied Keitaro. "You Kendo witch!"

"I have a name. It's Aoyama Motoko."

"Keitaro, let me say this now, as a friend. Run. Now!" I advised him. "While I do admire you for having the guts to try and come on to Motoko, those guts will be spilled if you don't get the fudge outta here!" Unfortunately for him, he couldn't follow my advice because Motoko decided to speak up.

"Keitaro: You're a pervert, and a disgusting man!" shouted Motoko.

"Ouch…" said Keitaro.

"I'll tell you right now!" announced Motoko. "Weaklings like you… make me sick! Chaos! Let's go!" she commanded.

"Sorry to bail on ya man, but I don't wanna face her wrath when I'm unarmed," I apologized. "I'll see ya later," I added. After we were a decent distance away from Keitaro, Motoko and I started another conversation.

"Chaos, why are you friends with that idiot?" she questioned.

"I'm not sure how we became friends, I just remember that we met when my parents took me to his family's bakery like ten years ago," I began. "We're friends because he's a good person, always trying to be the best he can and putting others before himself. Unfortunately, he's also in need of support a lot, which is also a reason why we're friends."

"I see," said Motoko. "You're lucky you're not a weakling like Urashima. If you were, I would've vouched for you to leave the dorm before too long."

"Yeah, I'm glad I'm not like Keitaro," I replied. "Or Kutagi-sensei, for that matter." She giggled at this comment. "Damn, you calmed down quickly."

"You're much more relaxing to be around than Urashima," she replied.

"Yeah, that's probably true. Keitaro's just a big ol' walkin ball of nervous energy, ready to explode at anytime," I said. She giggled again, probably imagining what else could come from Keitaro's clumsiness.

"So, do you want to spar later?" she asked.

"Sorry, Motoko-chan, but I don't like training in the rain," I apologized. "I'll spar with you when it clears up," I added.

"Aww, fine," she pouted. The rest of the walk home was pretty enjoyable, aside from the rain, but enjoyable, nonetheless. We arrived home with no other incidents, and Motoko, true to her word, went up to the roof to go train; after changing out of her school uniform, of course. I decided to follow her, having nothing better to do.

Her training commenced as she had asked me to throw a nearby, oddly convenient bucket of rocks at her. Knowing Motoko, I didn't question why and just started tossing. Each and every rock was gracefully cut to size as she sliced through them as if they were softened sticks of butter. After the rocks had all been sliced, she thanked me for my assistance and began to slice falling leaves.

Midway through, she stopped and threw her katana behind her, shouting, "A spy!" The blade missed, but still planted itself in a board of wood near the 'spy', who turned out to be Keitaro. "First you chase after girls, and now peeping at people? Urashima Keitaro…"

"No, no, that's not it," said Keitaro in fear of Motoko.

"Remember, I'm not like Naru. I don't want you here," coldly stated Motoko. "If you try to pull anything stupid… I'll have to force you out," finished Motoko, slightly unsheathing another blade. "Got it?"

"Keitaro, you really should back off a little if you want to live," I advised him as I got up and walked over to him.

"Yoo hoo! Motoko! Re-taker! Argate-san!" called out a voice that sounded like Kaolla's. Along with this voice came the rustling of leaves on the tree above Motoko. "Dinner Time!" exclaimed Kaolla as she popped out of the tree right in front of Motoko's face, evidently surprising her so that she lost her footing and fell over. That is, she would've fallen over if Keitaro hadn't stepped in and caught her

"A-are you ok?" timidly asked Keitaro. I looked over at the two of them and saw both of them blushing, Motoko moreso than Keitaro.

"Let… Let go of me!" shouted Motoko as she freed herself from Keitaro's arm. "I don't need you! I can take care of myself!" She walked away from me and Keitaro with Su, who was apologizing for scaring Motoko.

I started walking to the dining room a few minutes later and noticed Keitaro was still standing there, in a daze. "Come on, Keitaro, let's go," I called to him.

"Huh? Oh sure, I'll go pick up my noodles," sighed Keitaro.

"Come on, man, if Su came over to tell the three of us that dinner's ready, you included, I'm sure something good's comin your way!" I assured him.

"Hmm, maybe you're right," said Keitaro as he followed me down to the dining room. Sure enough, Keitaro was now to be allowed to eat with the rest of us. "Ah… Finally!" cried Keitaro, obviously in joy. "At last I get to taste Shinobu-chan's cooking! Great! Looks delicious! Unlike a certain someone's riceballs and sandwiches!"

"Who would this 'certain someone' be? Would you rather have instant noodles instead?" questioned Naru.

"Well it might be me, I suck at making riceballs and my sandwiches always lack something compared to other dishes," I inferred.

"Really? Well I've been told my food doesn't look so appetizing, but often is better than it looks," commented Naru.

"Err…" interjected Keitaro. He apparently didn't want to go into a whole, blown-out conversation about how food is prepared. "Let's chow down!" And with that, we all started eating. Keitaro reached for the soy sauce… at the same time as Motoko.

"Don't touch me!" exclaimed Motoko, picking up the soy sauce after their hands bumped trying to pick up the soy sauce.

"Err… I'm sorry!" apologized Keitaro.

"Hmph," Motoko started to pour the soy sauce over her meal, not even looking at how much she was pouring. I glanced over at her dish and saw a black sea covering whatever was on her plate.

"Motoko-chan, this is gonna sound weird from someone who practically drowns their meals in soy sauce, but isn't that a bit too much soy sauce?" I asked. She looked at her plate, apparently dreading whatever awaited her.

"Wah!" exclaimed Motoko as she saw her soy sauce-drenched meal.

"Oh, and can you pass the soy sauce?" I asked.

"Sure, here," Motoko passed her plate over. I took it and poured some of the excess sauce onto my dish.

"Here ya go," I said as I passed the dish back. The rest of the meal passed without incident. That is, until Motoko finished her meal.

"I'm done eating!" she announced as she unceremoniously got up.

"Um, Motoko…" started Keitaro.

"What do you want?" demanded Motoko rather angrily. I haven't seen Motoko all that angry actually; this was a first for me.

"There's um… rice on your face," pointed out Keitaro.

"Huh?" asked a confused Motoko as she realized Keitaro was telling the truth. "I… I have to go!" she announced as she ran off… into a support beam. She pushed herself away from the beam and started walking in another direction in a daze… and stepped into a bucket. "Gah!" shouted Motoko as she realized where her right foot was. Similar accidents continued like this until she was completely out of the dining room. There was an awkward silence all throughout this ordeal.

"What's up with Motoko? Why is her face all red…" asked Su, breaking the silence.

"Looks nervous… or maybe excited?" inferred Mitsune.

"Did you do something to Motoko too?" asked Naru, accusing Keitaro.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "If anyone, Chaos over there is the one most likely to do anything to Motoko!" accused Keitaro.

"Yeah, thanks a lot, man," I flatly said to him.

"I know he's the most likely person, but she acted up because of you!" shouted Naru. I left the room before I could hear the rest of the argument and wandered up to my room for a little rest. An hour after I lay down on my futon, Motoko came up, telling me to follow her, and the other girls outside with her.

"Hey, what's goin on?" I asked Naru.

"I don't know," she said. "Motoko's saying stuff about honor and pride, so I assume Keitaro did something to muck up both of those."

"Makes sense, I guess," I said. Motoko had found Keitaro at this point and was literally dragging him to wherever she was taking all of us. We stopped at a nearby waterfall and she commanded all of us to stand back a few yards. She continued to drag Keitaro up to a rock platform in the middle of the lake in front of the waterfall, forcing him to wear an odd looking uniform that wouldn't look out of place if Keitaro were trying out to be a catcher for a baseball team.

"What?" asked Keitaro as he was handed a wooden sword.

"Keitaro, I officially challenge you!" declared Motoko, pointing her sword at Keitaro menacingly, quite unlike the way she'd hold her blade out before we sparred. "If you win, I'll forget about this business! BUT, if I win, you get the hell out of Hinata-sou!"

"Wait…" started Keitaro, "Hold on, STOP! I'll never beat you in Kendo!" pleaded Keitaro.

"It's no use!" cried out Motoko. "Secret technique: TERRA SLICER!" she called out as she aimed a slash towards Keitaro. This stuff wasn't too bad for someone with skills such as mine, but as for Keitaro… well he jumped out of the way in time, luckily, for the technique had been strong enough to slice a giant boulder into two. The other girls were chatting amongst themselves, asking if they could stop this 'duel'. I was barely listening, preferring to think of words to say at Keitaro's funeral.

"Hmph, Keitaro…" said Motoko in a very ominous manner.

"WAAHH! SOMEONE SAVE ME!!" Keitaro shouted, turning to look at us in the peanut gallery. His plead was unanswered, as all the other girls were cheering. He looked at me, expecting me to do something.

"Don't look at me, I'm not one to interfere in duels," I said in my defense. "You've got no hope in trying to best her with a sword; try something else!"

"DIE!" cried Motoko as she swung her blade dangerously close to Keitaro, blasting up a cloud of dust, invariably making a fog that couldn't be seen through. When the fog cleared, all that could be seen was Motoko, glancing around, looking for her prey. Moments later, something rose out of the water behind Motoko and grabbed her in a full nelson. I stared in awe as I realized Keitaro had essentially locked Motoko in place.

"Let…: Let go of me, you idiot!" demanded Motoko.

"NO! I can't die… Not until I get into Tokyo U!" replied Keitaro. Moments passed as he had her in the lock.

He unwittingly loosened his grip, and in response, Motoko freed herself and shouted, "I REFUSE!" and was about to cut right through Keitaro.

"WAAH! PLEASE, SPARE MY LIFE!" pleaded Keitaro. She was aiming to slash at full strength, but she sneezed in the middle of her slash, weakening both her grip on her sword, and her power. The impact was still enough to knock Keitaro out, but she had let go of the sword on contact, and it had spun up in the air and knocked Motoko out as well.

"I-it's over?!" I asked in shock.

"It's a tie…" said Kaolla, holding up two white flags.

An hour later, we had Motoko in bed and were all caring for her, as she picked up a bad cold from training in the rain. "Motoko-chan, this is why I don't train in the rain," I admonished.

"Pretty bad cold… No wonder she was acting so weird…" commented Shinobu.


	11. Chapter 11: Christmas Eve

To the anonymous reviewer who bashed this fic: I really don't care if people don't care about Self-insertions. Actually, when did I ever say this was a self-insertion? There's nothing wrong with adding a little spin on a story I like, right? Something tells me you'd not enjoy many Shin Megami Tensei fics that involve the main character as the main character of most SMT games is pretty much you, so technically, it's a self-insertion in itself.

Aside from that, a little feedback would be great, not negative, like the anonymous reviewer, but more along the lines of constructive criticism.

***

A month later, we were all setting up a giant Christmas tree outside the dorm. This tree was huge, as we needed a ladder to set up the branches.

"Hey," called a voice from the stairs leading up to the dorm.

"Oh! You two are back!" exclaimed Mitsune.

"You guys are back!" exclaimed Shinobu.

"Yay! You're back!" gleefully exclaimed Kaolla. I looked down from my perch on the tree to see that Keitaro and Naru had returned from the prep school.

"Well, took ya guys long enough," I mused.

"Wow, it's almost Christmas…" commented Keitaro.

"Dude, is it that good an idea to take time off studying for Christmas?" I asked, hopping down off my perch.

"Ha, why don't you take a look at this first?" He pulled out a spreadsheet showing his test scores.

"Oh wow!" exclaimed one of the girls. I looked and wasn't all that impressed. His grades went up, just over the 50 point mark.

"I've been doing pretty well lately…" said Keitaro with pride.

"No duh. With my help, of course," remarked Naru.

"With assistance, huh?" mused Motoko, who I was holding back from attacking Keitaro. I had no clue why, but she was ready to strike him.

"Alright! Tomorrow is the practice test for Toudai!" announced Keitaro. "I'll use this chance to prove myself!"

"Toudai practice test?" asked Mitsune.

"It's a practice test based on the actual exam needed to gain admission to Toudai," explained Keitaro.

"Our study group is pretty renowned in this practice test…" started Naru. "If you can do better than the average in this test… You've got a good chance of getting into Toudai."

"Yeah!" exclaimed Keitaro.

"The test scores should be back on the 24th. If Keitaro does well, then let's celebrate with a party!" exclaimed Mitsune.

"I'll bake a cake!" announced Shinobu.

"Ooh, let me help you with that," I said to her.

"Ok, Chaos-kun," she replied.

"I'll make some food from my homeland!" announced Su.

"Forget it, Su…" admonished Motoko.

We all began wishing Keitaro luck as Haruka interrupted us. "Hey! Keitaro! Sorry to bother you but… Someone's on the phone looking for you," she told him. "The phone is near the door," she said as Keitaro walked inside the dorm.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Keitaro called to Haruka. We were about to continue with the decorations when we heard Keitaro's conversation with his parents. "Yeah, I plan to take the Toudai exam this year," said Keitaro, awaiting the response. "What? Go home? What're you talking about? Don't worry! I'm doing getter than ever! I really am going to make it into Toudai this year!" At this point, we had all walked up to the doorway to listen in. I face-palmed when I heard Keitaro's response.

"His grades didn't get all that better, did they?" I asked Naru.

"Of course not!" assured Naru.

"Y-yeah! Don't worry!" exclaimed Keitaro. He grinned at his test scores. "How about this then. Tomorrow there's going to be a practice test for the Toudai exam, and if I bomb that test, I'll go home right away!"

"Is this ok?" asked Mitsune.

"Alright, I got it. Bye," finished Keitaro as he hung up. He pushed his glasses up with a confident smirk on his face. "Time to go study! Ha ha!!" grinned Keitaro as he skipped up the stairs.

"Do you think this will work?" asked Mitsune.

"If it were any other college he was trying to get into," replied Naru.

"What an idiot," commented Motoko.

"He's doomed," I commented.

"Is Keitaro going home already?" asked the always clueless Kaolla.

"No, I don't think he is…" I said as I went up to my room to do something on the internet. About an hour later, Shinobu's call of dinner attracted us all to the kitchen.

As I sat down at the table, I looked around and saw Keitaro trying to mask some pain as he 1) had a bandage on his cheek, and 2) immediately started eating.

"Dude, what's with the bruise?" I asked, pointing at his right cheek.

"It-it's nothing!" claimed Keitaro.

"Ha ha, must be from peeping at Naru!" claimed Mitsune.

"It's an accident!! Really!" stammered Keitaro who was held in yet another death lock by Motoko, who was holding her blade right at his neck. This just begs the question of 'does she carry her sword with her 24/7?'

"Aren't you having a bit too many accidents?" asked Motoko. She sheathed her sword again and turned to Naru. "Naru, why don't you get that hole fixed?"

"Because the room under mine used to belong to Grandma," she explained. "Although, she doesn't live here anymore… hey, you're the manager, right?" asked Naru, turning to Keitaro. "Go and fix that hole up, will you?"

"But that hole's really convenient…" protested Keitaro.

"NOT FOR ME!!!" retorted Naru.

"Hmm, this means that the only thing separating the two rooms is a piece of plywood…" said Mitsune. "What do you do when you hear 'strange' noises in the middle of the night?"

"WHAT STRANGE NOISES?!?" cried out both Keitaro and Naru in unison. The rest of us could only watch the scene with very unamused faces. As dinner wrapped up, we all returned to whatever we were doing previous.

"Ohh? Motoko? You're following Chaos to his room?" teased Mitsune as she caught us walking towards the stairwell. "Well maybe the two of you should make a hole between your rooms like the one in Keitaro's and Naru's,"

"Mitsune, by now, you've realized that the stairs I take also go up to the third floor, right?" I asked.

"Hmm? Yes, of course," she replied.

"That's why I'm following Chaos-kun over to the stairs," stoically said Motoko. "NOT his room!"

"Ok, then, I'll believe you," started Mitsune. "But if I catch just one whiff of anything suspicious between you two, I'll know something's up. Later guys," said Mitsune as she cheerfully went off to the lounge.

"She's always like that, isn't she?" I asked Motoko on the way up to my room.

"For better or for worse," answered Motoko as she walked up the stairs to the third floor.

"Later, Motoko-chan," I said, walking towards my room. Not knowing what else to do that day, I went to bed.

The next morning, everyone was gathered out in the lobby to wish Keitaro luck on his exam.

"Good luck Keitaro!" said Mitsune and Shinobu.

"Way of the warrior…" chanted Motoko as she and Kaolla rubbed a rock and some flint together.

"Keitaro, let's see just how well you do this time," I said. "Good luck, but with all of the work you put into this, you shouldn't need it,"

"Thanks guys," thanked Keitaro. "Hey, do you guys know where Naru is?"

"She went on ahead," I replied. "Whatcha do this time?" I asked, very, very unamused.

"No-nothing at all!" said Keitaro as he rushed out the door. Hours later, sometime after school had ended, he would return with a look that radiated confidence.

"Well, how'd ya guys do?" I asked as I, along with the other students, went over to greet him and Naru.

"I think I did pretty well," said Naru, as calm as she could get.

"I know I did good this time!" exclaimed Keitaro, his confidence radiating fully.

"Congratulations, senpai!" cheered Shinobu.

"Hmph, we'll see," said Motoko.

"Alright, Kei-kun! So then, we'll be seein the results soon?" I asked.

"They'll be given out on Christmas Eve," said Naru.

"Yup!" cheerfully said Keitaro.

Weeks later, I was helping Shinobu bake the cake for the Christmas party we were throwing. "Yo! The cake's done!" I called to everyone else.

"YAY!" cried a very hyper and energetic voice. I was helping Shinobu carry the cake over to the table when she looked out.

"Oh! It's snowing!" exclaimed Shinobu.

"Looks like we'll be havin a white Christmas this year," I commented.

"It's so nice," said Motoko.

"Keitaro sure is takin 'is time… why don't we start without him?" suggested Mitsune.

"We probably should, the cake wasn't supposed to be ready until halfway through the party, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, though I do wonder where Senpai is…" said Shinobu.

"He probably fell down some sewer again…" answered Naru, slight venom dripping from her mouth.

"That's cold, Naru," I said as we began the festivities. The whole party was just full of fun; the food was great, no real tensions in the air (I attribute that to a lack of Keitaro, sadly), and it all peaked when Mitsune pulled out a party popper.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" exclaimed Mitsune as she pulled the string and let the confetti loose. The party didn't get better than that, though it was very, very enjoyable. "Keitaro is so slow," said Mitsune a while after she pulled the popper, "I told him to come back early since we're havin a party… Could he be in an accident?"

"Nah, if I know Keitaro, he failed the test and can't face any of us," I half-joked.

"Yeah! That must be it!" exclaimed Mitsune.

"Aww the food's gone, along with all the soda," I said, looking at the table.

"I'll go get some more," offered Shinobu as she walked off to the kitchen. Less than two minutes later, she screamed. "A THIEF!! CATCH HIM!!"

We all stopped the festivities and turned hostilely over to the hallway. "A thief on Christmas Eve, eh?" said Motoko with a harsh tone as she confronted the thief. "Take this: IRON SLASH!" she cried out as she let loose a fierce slash, nearly hitting the thief. He jumped out of the way, right onto my feet.

"Looks like your luck's run out," I said as the thief landed in front of me. I unsheathed my blade. "GISHOUSEN!" I cried out as I swung my blade behind me and brought it back in front (AN: think of it as like an underhand pitch), letting loose a fierce gale, which knocked the thief away. He got up after recovering from my attack and attempted to flee… again. "GET BACK HERE YOU SONOVA-!" I shouted.

"STOP! YOU THIEF!" shouted Motoko. He turned a corner and stopped as he saw Naru at the end of the hallway. He was caught now, I thought as I saw him stop. Though he realized there was an overhang just over the railing and jumped over the rail to get to it. I was about to give chase when I realized the overhang was only on that side of the building; he'd be cornered before long. Although I don't think he realized there was an end to the overhang as he fell off… into the hot springs.

"Damn! He got away!" shouted Mitsune.

"This guy's pretty good," commented Motoko.

"But… what's there to steal here?" asked Shinobu. I thought about it for a bit and realized she was right; almost nothing here was of any worth to people who didn't own the objects in question. I thought a little more and came to the conclusion that the 'thief' was Keitaro and he was trying to get out of here undetected for he had failed the mock exam. The thief did have a similar hair color and glasses like Keitaro's; I'd wager I'm about 75% right.

"That was Keitaro," said Naru, as if she were reading my mind. Make that 100% right.

"What? Keitaro?" asked Mitsune.

"Why would he do something like this?" asked Motoko.

"I'd assume he was trying to leave the dorm inconspicuously for he mucked up the practice exam," I said.

"Right," said Naru, confirming my accusation. "Look, he dropped this," said Naru as she held up a little pamphlet. Mitsune snatched it up and we all gathered around to look at it. I _was_ right about Keitaro mucking up the exam as he had a D mark, with a 49 average. At least he bumped up his average by _one_ point.

"AHAHA! This is so sad!" mocked Mitsune as she looked over the score. "What kind of score is this?"

"And here I thought I was joking," I said. "He did make a promise with his parents…"

"Did he fail?" asked Shinobu.

"He's got no chance of getting in to Toudai right now," I said.

"So- he wants to leave this place?" asked Shinobu.

Shinobu started walking away in a hurry. "Hey, where do you think you're goin?" I asked her.

"I'll go look for him, maybe he's still around here…" said Shinobu.

"Forget it…" said Naru.

"Why?" asked Shinobu.

"Let's just leave him alone. It's better for him this way," said Naru.

"Naru?" asked Mitsune.

"The real test is a month away… With grades like this, there's no way he'll make it into Toudai," said Naru.

"So you're saying that even if we get him to come back, it'd not help him and be a waste of time, right?" I asked.

"Well, I guess so… 0%..." said Mitsune.

"I guess it would be hard for him too, after all that boasting…" said Motoko.

"But…" started Shinobu.

"Are you really so sure?" asked a voice from behind us. We turned around and saw it was Haruka.

"The truth is that his grades did in fact improve after he came to Hinata-sou, right?" asked Haruka.

"Haruka…" softly said Naru.

"Naru, weren't you like Keitaro two years ago?" asked Haruka. "If you guys let him go like this, wouldn't he feel lonely? Besides, if he freezes to death, his ghost might come to haunt you for letting him freeze," joked Haruka.

"I'm going out to look for him," declared Shinobu.

"Me too!!" exclaimed Kaolla as she followed Shinobu.

Motoko sighed. "What a troublemaker…" said Motoko as she went off with the two younger girls.

"I think I've got a good idea of where he might be," I muttered to myself as I went off on my own search. I jumped over the rail, much like Keitaro earlier, but I also jumped off the overhang to get access to the ground. My first stop to look for Keitaro: Toudai.

I dashed all the way to Toudai in the snow, not caring for the fact that it still was snowing. I made it there and saw Keitaro walking away from the building with a downcast look. He looked up as he noticed my presence.

"Ch-Chaos-kun?" exclaimed Keitaro in surprise.

I was still panting and trying to catch my breath as I gave my reply. "I… knew you'd… be here," I choked out.

"Why…?" started Keitaro before I cut him off, having regained my composure.

"Come on dude, you really expect me to let you run off for a low score?" I asked.

"Chaos, come on, listen… I've already decided that I'm gonna leave Hinata-sou," said Keitaro before he noticed I went over to a nearby food stand to order a little food.

"Hey, can I get two hot yams?" I asked the stand-tender. "Thanks," I said as I walked back to Keitaro, tossing a yam to him. "All yours, buddy,"

"Huh? Oh, thank you," thanked Keitaro. "How did you find me here anyways?"

"Call it a lucky guess, but I figured you'd visit Toudai one last time before you left," I explained. "Ya know, if you hold out your hand like this," I started, holding my hand towards Toudai, palm out, "Toudai seems like it's in your reach, doesn't it?" I walked over to the building and touched it. "And now it's in my reach!" I joked. "Come on, let's go. Don't let one bad mock exam score get ya down,"

"Alright, Chaos-kun," he replied, looking like he felt much better about himself. We were about to turn around and leave when we heard the sound of party poppers.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" exclaimed the girls, who had brought the table, food, and party with them. These girls would never cease to surprise me, I thought as they started speaking up to Keitaro.

"I re-heated the food!" declared Shinobu.

"Keitaro! I made a feast!" declared Kaolla.

"Thought ya went home already," said Mitsune.

"You keep making us worry…" started Motoko. "But then again, who cares if you leave?" finished Motoko as she chuckled at her comment.

"Dude, ya gotta stop doin stunts like this, you're causing the girls a lot of trouble," I said to him.

"Yea, even though you're an idiot and a perv, you're still our manager," finished Mitsune.

"Everyone, thanks!" said Keitaro as he voiced his gratitude. Everyone was in such a good mood that they didn't notice Su sneak up on Keitaro with a full, shaken champagne bottle. I watched in amusement as she popped it, spraying its contents right into Keitaro's face.

"What are you doing! You crazy girl!" shouted Keitaro as he started to chase Su. I can't wait to see what the next year would bring to the dorms; I love it here!


	12. Chapter 12: New Years

To the last reviewer: Thanks for the positive review, I could use some feed back after writing a few chapters without any at all. Don't worry, I'll continue my work; even if it's not this fic, I'll be here writin whatever from time to time.

***

"Huh? Keitaro? What are you doin in the bushes so early in the morning?" I asked, noticing Keitaro get out of the bushes and walk into the lobby.

"Well it's like thi-" started Keitaro as he looked into the lobby. "Wha-?"

"Happy new year!" exclaimed Kaolla and Mitsune, both clad in a kimono. Motoko was standing in between them, looking less than amused and barely wishing Keitaro a happy new year.

"Happy new year, man!" I exclaimed, "Let's make the next one rock even more!"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Keitaro as he looked the girls over. "Wow! Traditional kimono?" asked Keitaro.

"Well I hear that Haruka-san loves kimono, so I'd wager that the girls wear it every year," I replied.

"Hehe- it feels so nice," commented Kaolla.

"Ya hit the nail righ on the head, Chaos-kun," said Mitsune.

"Ooh! Ooh! Here's something for the lion dance!" exclaimed Kaolla as she brought out a giant… actually, what the hell was it? It looked like some sort of odd cross between a dragon, lion, and possibly a tiger, but I can't tell.

"That ain't a lion," commented Keitaro.

"Come on Shinobu-chan, don't be embarrassed!" said Mitsune as she dragged Shinobu into the room.

"Happy new year," said Shinobu as she regained the composure to speak. I don't see why she has reason to be embarrassed; she looks pretty damn cute in that kimono.

"Happy new year, Shin-chan!" I called to her.

"Happy new year," said Keitaro. "You look cute in a kimono!"

"Err, thanks…" said Shinobu as she looked away, hiding a blush.

"Hey guys, wanna go to the shrine?" asked Mitsune.

"Sure, I've nothin better to do this day," I replied.

"Go to the shrine? I don't think praying will get me into Toudai," said Keitaro. "Maybe I should stay home and study…" Leave it to Keitaro to miss out on the holiday mood. Can't really blame him though, with his grades, he's gonna need a lot of work to get into Toudai.

"Well, Naru's goin too!" added Mitsune.

"Hey! It's Naru! Happy new year!" exclaimed Kaolla. I swear, someone needs to get that girl something that'll calm her down.

"Happy new year, Naru," I said, turning to look at her. I dropped my jaw, not in awe of how great she looks in a kimono, but at the fact that she was dressed in her bland study outfit: huge spiral glasses, a sweat shirt that said SALEM, and her hair was in braided pigtails.

"Happy new year…" said Naru.

"It's new year! Why the hell are you dressed like that?" questioned Keitaro.

"No fun for the examinees," explained Naru. Somehow, I think that wouldn't apply to some people. "Quick, go say your prayers and come back to work," commanded Naru.

"Now this is a crowd!" I exclaimed as we (Keitaro, Mitsune, Shinobu, Kaolla, Naru, and I) walked towards the shrine's offertory box.

"I don't really believe in this kinda thing," said Keitaro when we reached the box.

"Don't say that!" said Mitsune. A minute later, Keitaro went back on his word and started praying for success at his Toudai exams.

"What happened to not believing in 'this kinda thing'?" I teased.

"Let's go get our fortune told," said Mitsune who dragged Keitaro by the hood over to another part of the shrine, where people can get talismans to predict their luck for the year. At the shrine, we met up with Motoko, who apparently was working at the shrine.

"You guys are here?" asked Motoko.

"Why not?" I asked. "Shrines are always good places to go to at the start of new years, right?"

"WOO-HOO! Lucky!" exclaimed one of the girls who pulled a good talisman.

"Yay! I got a really good one too!" exclaimed another.

"Medium luck!"

"A little bit of luck…"

"I think I'll pull one," I said.

"Hmm… I think I will too," said Keitaro as we both moved up to the talismans.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Motoko.

"Sure, why not? Is there a reason not to?" I asked.

"The fortune telling talismans here are really accurate," started Motoko. "If you get an unlucky one…"

"Meh, if I get bad luck I'll deal with it in my own way," I said, pulling a talisman. It read 'GODLIKE LUCK'. "Or if I get something really good, I'll reap the rewards," I added, looking at my talisman.

"Whatcha get, Chaos?" asked Mitsune.

"A really good one," I replied. I scanned the list of fortunes the talisman told. 'Fortune awaits you at a shrine', read the first fortune. 'Fortune'? I wondered what the talisman meant when some random guy came up to me and handed me a briefcase. "Umm, who the hell are you, and why are you giving me a briefcase?" I asked the man.

"I'm a guy who's going up to the mountains to be a hermit. As for the briefcase, I'm entrusting random people with copious amounts of my vast wealth; I'm not gonna need it anymore," said the man.

"And you're not giving this to family or friends?" I asked, still a little skeptical.

"Don't have any," he said. "Well I'm going to find more people to give my money to!" said the man as he walked off.

"What just happened?" asked Keitaro.

"I don't kno-" I stopped mid-sentence as I opened the briefcase. "HOLY CRAP! That is a pretty sum of money!" I exclaimed as I saw just how much money was in the briefcase. The thing was freaking STUFFED with cash! I took out a small pile and counted up enough to account for this month's rent. "Here you go, Keitaro, here's this month's rent," I said, handing him the money.

"Uhh, thanks?" he said, still somewhat confused at the recent turn of events. I looked at the next fortune: 'Failed death attempt on your life in the future' read the next one. After that was 'Beware those with great misfortune', then 'Great amusement' was the last one. I had no clue what the second one was all about, but I could already guess about those last two.

"I think I'll just take mine now…" said Keitaro as he took a talisman. He opened it and I swear, his eyes grew huge at his fortune.

"Well let's see what ya got," I said as I looked at his. It read 'ULTRA BAD LUCK'. "Wow, that's gonna suck later," I said. He started reading his aloud, and as soon as he read one, it happened. The first one was 'Beware of water', and as soon as he said that, an old man accidentally splashed a bucket of water on him. I think I know what that 'great amusement' was. He then read the second fortune, 'Beware of falling objects', and true to the fortune, a potted plant fell from the someone's balcony.

"Sorry! Are you alright?" asked the owner of the plant from up on the balcony.

"Holy crap, now that is very accurate," I commented. Keitaro looked at the last fortunes and turned pale. I looked at them and read 'At this rate, might fail again' and 'Better to be alone. Stay away from the opposite sex. Might bring misfortune to both'. Thinking on Keitaro's fortune, I thought that maybe if I stuck around with him for the day, some of my luck might go his way. Of course, it could backfire and his luck would go my way, but it's worth a shot, right? Although something tells me this is what my talisman's tryin ta warn me about. "Keitaro, you've got some horrid luck right now, so I'm just gonna hang around you for the day to see if my luck goes your way," I told him.

"Hey, what did the talisman say? Keitaro-kun?" asked Shinobu, who tried to steal a glimpse of Keitaro's talisman.

"Stay… Stay away from me!" shouted Keitaro, who remembered the last fortune. Shinobu looked very hurt by this.

"I-I didn't mean any harm…" started Shinobu.

"Wha-? No…" said Keitaro as he realized what he had just done.

"S… sorry. I-if I stay, I'll only cause trouble…" said Shinobu in tears. "Sorry Keitaro-kun!" cried Shinobu as she ran off.

"Huh? NOOOO! SHINOBU-CHAN!" shouted Keitaro as he started to give chase. "WAIT! DON'T GO!" and with that, he slipped on a puddle and fell face first on the ground.

"Holy crap dude, we gotta find a way to ward off the bad luck before something really bad happens," I told him. At that moment, that giant… thing that Kaolla brought out earlier that day came out and tried to bite both of us. "What the hell happened this time?" I questioned after we had jumped out of the way.

"I… I don't know! I didn't get near any girls, so why did this happen?" replied Keitaro.

The head of the beast opened, revealing Kaolla inside. "It's me, me! Su!" exclaimed the little girl inside. "Did you know that getting bitten by a lion is a sign of good fortune?" asked the girl as we pondered that statement. "Keitaro! Chaos! Here's to your good fortune!" said Kaolla as she bared the fangs of the beast.

"Whoa! No! Stop!" I shouted as she started chasing us both. "GAH! GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" I shouted as I tried to flee from the beast. There was a set of stairs going down coming up, and I wasn't about to get caught rollin down it inside that odd beast costume. I rolled out of the way just before Keitaro and Su fell down the stairs. "You guys ok down there?" I called to them after they had stopped rolling.

"Hey, Motoko!" I called to her a little bit after the Kaolla incident. "Can you help Keitaro here with something?" I asked her.

"Yeah, this talisman's really giving me bad luck, so please?" pleaded Keitaro.

"What? The talisman's giving you bad luck? So it was an unlucky one," said Motoko. "Haven't you guys heard that tying the talisman onto a tree can ward off bad luck?"

"I don't think I've heard that…" I pondered.

"Oh yeah! Now that you mention it…" said Keitaro.

"Come with me," said Motoko as she walked over to a grove of trees.

"These are some pretty tall trees," I said, looking the trees over.

"Tch, I guess I'll climb the tree and tie it for you," said Motoko. "I don't think Keitaro would want to climb up on someone with his luck and he probably can't lift you up, Chaos," she commented. "Alright, Chaos, stand still," commanded Motoko as she jumped up on my shoulders.

"Thank you, Motoko," said Keitaro who was watching from not too far away.

"It's an easy job," said Motoko as she finished tying the talisman. "Alright, it's done, you can let me down now, Chaos-kun," said Motoko.

"Alright then, Motoko," I said as I kneeled down to let Motoko have easier access to the ground.

"So there you are, Keitaro!" said a voice that sounded like Kaolla's from a far.

"Oh crap!" I shouted as I jumped up into a tree, hidden from sight.

"GAH! SU'S BACK!" shouted Keitaro as he ran off in fear.

"What's going on?" asked a puzzled Motoko.

"Well, earlier today, right before we came to you for help with Keitaro's bad luck, Su was chasing us, saying that it's good fortune to get bitten by a lion," I explained, jumping down from my perch.

"And she was chasing you too?" asked Motoko, referring to why I hid in a tree.

"Well if I stood still, I might've gone to the hospital for blood loss and deep piercing wounds," I explained.

"Should we go stop her?" asked Motoko.

"That's probably a good idea," I replied as we started walking in whichever direction Keitaro ran off. Before long, we noticed a stampede approaching in our direction.

"Wh-what the hell is going on?" I asked when I saw the stampede.

"WAIT! COME BACK! LET MY LIONS BITE YOU FOR LUCK!" shouted Kaolla, who was at the back of the stampede with a horde of mecha-lions.

"NOT AGAIN!" I shouted as I dashed away from the stampede, dragging Motoko along with me.

"Hey! Let go of me!" protested Motoko. After I had seen we were a safe distance from the stampede, I let go. "What the hell was that all about?!" questioned Motoko.

"Sorry, Motoko-chan, but that stampede's probably somethin you can't get through easily," I apologized. "Besides, if we're gonna stop Kaolla, then the best place is from the back, where she can't see us, right?" I said as I realized this was one of the better places to strike.

"I see," said Motoko. "But please… NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!" shouted Motoko as she took out a wooden sword and smashed it into my arm.

I clutched my arm right after the blow and tried to subdue the pain. "Right, sorry, Motoko-chan," I apologized. After my arm felt better, I went over a small battle plan with Motoko. "Alright, since Su's probably more used to you, you should focus on stopping her," I said.

"That sounds fine," said Motoko. "I take it you'll work on the mecha-lions?"

"Exactly," I replied. "Alright, let's go!" I said as I rushed forward, wooden blade in hand. I caught up to the back of the stampede and struck quickly, aiming two well placed slashes to take out two of the lions. "Gotcha," I muttered to myself as the four lion halves fell. The lack of the two lions alerted about four more lions to my presence, and they tried pouncing on me. I ducked, and they collided with each other, almost comically. When the lions had fallen to the ground, they rose up again, ready to attack again. "Like hell you're goin again!" I exclaimed as I readied the sword. I stuck my blade into the ground, shouted "SHUGOHOUJIN!" and watched as the lions were engulfed in a bright circle of light, which ultimately destroyed them.

By now, the last of the lions knew I was behind them and they all ran up to me, trying to bite me. "Ha! Looks like a few more wanna die!" I taunted as I reared my blade back. "SOUGAJIN!" I shouted as I swung my blade down, creating a large, azure shockwave circle that disintegrated the lions upon contact. Unfortunately, the wooden blade had all it could take at this point, and snapped upon contact with the ground. "Damn, my sword's snapped," I looked ahead and noticed no more mecha-lions on the way. "Thank god there are no more lions," I said as I turned to see how Motoko was doing. She had already subdued Su as she was holding her up by the collar.

I ran up to the stampede and tried to tell them that the lions were gone… before I decided to just enjoy the laughable chaos. Eventually, they did realize the lions were gone and dispersed.

After the chaos had died down (no, not me people), I decided to stick around with Motoko as she tended the shrine. "Ya know, this was a fun way to start a new years," I commented.

"It was certainly… interesting," replied Motoko.

"If this is how new years starts every year, I can't wait for the next one!"


	13. Chapter 13: Law and Chaos

Here we go again; another feedback-less chapter written. Honestly, I have no clue why I went with this for a chapter, but I don't feel like changing it now. Gotta give something for the OC to make him unique.

***

The following morning, I decided to go to Shibuya yet again. I felt a very ominous presence outside the dorm, and decided to take my sword with me for protection. I glanced at the clock right before I left and saw that it was close to 10 AM.

"Oh? Chaos? Where are you going so early?" teased Mitsune as she greeted me on my way downstairs. "Another 'training session' with Motoko, perhaps?"

"Well if you must know, I'm goin ta Shibuya… again,"

"Then what's the sword for?"

"Something in the back of my mind's telling me to take it with me. I shouldn't get in trouble with any cops; I've owned a license to carry these in public for years now."

"Hmm, ok then," said Mitsune as she walked away. I approached the lobby with more caution as usual, and right before I pushed the door, I gripped the handle of my sword tightly.

The instant I got halfway between the stairs and dorm entrance, I heard a loud cry. "PREPARE TO DIE YOU BASTARD!" came a loud voice from my right, not unlike mine if I were psychotic. I retaliated and drew my sword to block a very exaggerated overhead swing from a person who looked very similar to me; our face, and height were similar, although that was it. This person was an extreme contrast to me, sporting an all white look; white hair, white clothes that were very ragged, and he was also very pale to add to the look. His hair was fashioned very similarly to mine, the only difference being that his hair was parted differently so the bangs covered his left eye. This man trying to kill me… was my twin brother, Law. The blade he was trying to kill me with was shaped like a giant black, high heeled shoe with some red decorations that looked like bloodstained vines.

"The hell are you doin here?" I questioned him after parrying the strike.

"Isn't it obvious?!" the assailant cried. "I'm here to kill you!"

"Yeah, kinda figured that," I retorted, rearing back in preparation for an attack. "Let's see how you like this!" I called as lunged forward, snaring the man in a combination of fiery slashes. "TENROUMETSUGA HIEN!" I cried as I lifted him into the air, jumped up and sent him crashing down in a fiery explosion.

"Gyahahahah! Yes! This power! You haven't changed a bit! I'm gonna enjoy seeing your life end as you fall to pieces!" cackled Law.

"What's going on!" shouted Motoko as she burst through the door, leading the others to see what was happening. "We heard a loud noise and… Wha?" She caught sight of the pale swordsman in front of me.

"What's this? An audience?" said the pale swordsman. "Perfect! All the more better to enjoy your death, brother!"

"B-brother?" questioned one of the bystanders.

"I'll explain later, for now, someone call for help!" I called to the bystanders as I rushed in for another attack.

"Not this time!" exclaimed my brother as he dodged my lunge. "Now for some real fun! AKU HIEN SHUNRENZAN!" cried Law as he dashed through me and kicked me up in the air, adding another three kicks that lifted me higher off the ground to finish his combo… or so I thought. After the third kick, he plunged his blade into the air and called down a bolt of lightning to empower the Soul Crush. By now, we had both landed, me crashing to the groundout of injuries from the three midair kicks, but Law was about ready to finish his attack as he plunged his blade into the ground, sending out a large shockwave through the ground within a radius of five feet from the sword.

"URGH!" I cried out as the shockwave hit me. Fortunately for me, the shockwave shocked my nerves into working order, lifting me off the ground. "Damn, didn't think you'd have mastered that skill yet," I said with heavy breaths. That one technique really did a number on me; I could barely stand! "Or any of those demonic attacks for that matter."

"GYAHAHAHA! Is it not wondrous?" boasted Law.

"Sure, it's great and all, but you'll kill yourself using it!" I shouted as I mustered the strength for one very risky move. I jumped up quite a few feet into the air and came down, planting my sword less than five feet from where my opponent stood. "SHUGOHOUJIN!" I shouted as my sword planted in the ground. I channeled energy from the ground into a shockwave similar to that of my brother's, although this one also had healing properties. Not as great as relaxing in a hot spring, but still enough to get me back in action.

"I think it's time to end this!" declared my opponent. "AKU GOU MAJINKEN!" Shouted my brother as he swung his blade in my direction, letting loose a large ki blast.

Naturally, I reacted by jumping out of the way, but then I realized that everyone was standing behind me before the large blast was launched. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" I shouted to everyone watching the fight. I dashed over to the front of the large blast and sliced through it, hoping to cut the thing in two and disperse it. Well it did manage to cut in two, but neither halves dispersed. One half flew up and away from harm; the other flew to the ground, knocking someone up into the air.

"KYAAA!" shouted the person who got tossed several feet into the air. I glanced over and saw it was Naru.

"NARU!" shouted pretty much everyone who didn't get caught in the blast, sans Law, as we all tried to break her fall. Unfortunately, we couldn't reach her in time and she came crashing down to the ground. Hard.

"Naru! Are you ok!?" I asked as everyone came up to her. She didn't respond. I checked her pulse to make sure she was alive, and fortunately for her, she was. I turned to look at my brother with seething wrath. "You… YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" I shouted as I started dashing towards him.

"THIS SHALL NOT GO UNPUNISHED!" shouted Motoko as she too dashed towards him, katana fully drawn.

For some reason, my brother was down on one knee. "Tch, I wasted too much energy… Gah! We'll finish this another time!" exclaimed my brother as he vanished in an instant, just narrowly dodging the cold hard steel of my blade.

At this moment, an ambulance arrived to pick up the injured. A few men came out of the ambulance and put Naru on a stretcher, wheeling her over to the ambulance.

Two hours later, we were all waiting outside the ER of the hospital, praying for Naru's well being. An eerie tension hung in the air as the seconds passed by. Keitaro was the one to break the silence with a worried cry. "Why… why did this have to happen to Naru?"

"Dammit… why did he have to show up…? Why?" I questioned aloud.

"What the hell was going on back there, Chaos-kun?" asked Motoko, being the first to regain her composure.

"Yeah… what was going on with you and Law?" asked Keitaro. "The two of you were inseparable until about 5 years ago… what happened?"

"This will take a while, but if you wish to know, then I will do my best to explain what happened. Keitaro, you remember that Law and I were enrolled in a Kendo school, right?" I asked.

"Of course, I could never forget all those times I came to visit but had to leave because of that school," reminisced Keitaro.

"Well the two of us were pretty much polar opposites when it came to personality and habits; I was clean and always law-abiding while Law was disorderly and sometimes broke the law to get what he wanted. As they say, opposites attract, right?" I said, thinking about how we got along so well even though we were completely different from one another.

"So what happened between you guys?" asked Shinobu.

"Well, one day, I decided I would stop practicing the style taught by the school, the 'Majin Shinsetsu' in favor of one unique to me. Law didn't take this well, as I was the only person other than him at the school to match his skill with a blade. The thought of losing a good sparring partner who could help with his shortcomings in the Majin Shinsetsu must've driven him wild as he challenged me to a duel a few days later. I accepted, not knowing that he had stolen the dojo's sacred blade, the Soul Crush. The very same blade that he used against me today."

"So… what happened in the duel?" asked Keitaro.

"Well, he had trouble using the sword during the duel, but during the duel, something odd happened to Law; he dropped to the ground and clutched his head in pain. I was about to go over and help, but then a chilling presence radiating from Law stopped me. He got up, effortlessly lifting the Soul Crush and declared that the body of the man once known as Law now belonged to him." I said.

"A demon possessed him?!" asked Motoko.

"That's right, a demon possessed and is still possessing Law now. I had heard rumors about how those deemed unfit to wield the Soul Crush would have their soul crushed by the demon inside. Although… Law was the first I've heard of the demon possessing someone, so Law just may have had what it took to wield the blade," I explained.

"What does it take to wield it?" asked Shinobu.

"No one knows. Everyone who's attempted to wield it so far has been consumed by the demon living inside of the blade." I said.

"How long does Law have until he's consumed?" asked Keitaro.

"The consumption process takes around 10 years, judging from past examples. I'd say there are 5 years left before Law is completely gone from this world," I said with a downhearted sigh.

"Excuse me, but are you the friends of a Narusegawa Naru?" interrupted a doctor who just came out of the ER. Everyone's attention turned from my odd relations with my brother to Naru's condition.

"Yes, why?" asked Keitaro, desperate to know if Naru was going to be all right.

"Good news, Naru's gonna be A-OK after a few weeks worth of rest. Just some bruises and maybe a slight bone fracture, but we can discharge her on the 14th," said the doctor. Everyone's face lit up at this statement as they started barraging the doctors with questions about Naru. I, however, decided to go outside to think about how to purge the demon from Law.

"It's not like you to go out like this alone," came Motoko's voice from behind me.

"Just thinking about how to deal with the demon's corruption of Law," I told her.

"What happened after you realized Law was possessed?" asked Motoko, who intended to hear the whole story.

"The demon started attacking, though it wasn't used to Law's body, it still managed to wreak havoc upon the dojo. Eventually, I managed to get a hit in on the demon, spilling a small amount of Law's blood in the process," I said.

"The demon didn't take that too well, did he?" asked Motoko.

"Probably not. I heard him mutter 'the first to spill my blood' when he was clutching the wound. He then declared that I would pay for my transgression and fled the premises," I finished.

"Has the demon gotten stronger since then?" asked Motoko.

"Last I saw him, I could've easily dispatched him," I confirmed. "It's ironic, isn't it?" I asked.

"What is?" questioned Motoko.

"How the orderly, law-abiding twin is named after discord and chaos and wasn't possessed by a chaos loving demon while the disruptive, corrupted, and power-hungry twin is named after harmony, peace, and the law, and _did_ get possessed by a demon," I explained, making a joke out of how ironic my name was when you considered that a man like Law was my brother.

"Always making a joke out of things even when they're dire… looks like you've got a quality that rings true to your name,"

"And what would that be?"

"Law enforcement people are often always dead serious; often times, criminals and other chaotic people look at their actions as a game or something. You may not make this seem like a game, but you can find slight amusement in it."

I smiled at this. "Huh, so I do," I commented. "Motoko, can I ask you something?"

"Go right ahead," she replied.

"Do you know any way of purging or exorcising demons?" I asked.

"Yes, and?" replied Motoko.

"Can you please teach me how to purge demons from someone?" I requested.

"Do you honestly think you have the skill and determination to learn a sacred Shinmei-Ryu style art?" warned Motoko.

"I don't know if I do, but I will try my hardest to learn this art, even if it kills me doing so!" I declared.

"In that case, I must test you to see if you are worthy of learning this art!" said Motoko as she drew her blade.

"Very well, but umm, can we find a better place to do this?" I asked, noting the fact that we were outside a hospital.

"I suppose so, now where are we to duel?" asked Motoko.

I looked around, scouting for a location to duel. "How about there?" I asked, pointing at a nearby forest.

"That works," said Motoko as she started towards the forest. "Now then, let's begin!" exclaimed Motoko as she held out her blade again. I unsheathed my blade and met hers.

"Alright, let's go!" I shouted, pulling my sword back to start my attack. Needless to say, after the duel had finished, I had more than proved my worth to learning the art of demon sealing as taught by the Shinmei-Ryu school. "You already know how well I can fight, why did you have to test me now?" I asked as we walked back towards the hospital to visit Naru.

"Those sparring matches with you were just for practice; I needed to wage your skill and determination against a demon," explained Motoko.

"And how did that duel have anything to do with demons?" I asked, a bit skeptical.

"Did you notice anything different about me in that duel?" asked Motoko as we arrived at the hospital.

"Well, your eyes did look a bit demonic, and your attacks were much more demonic than usual," I said, thinking back at the duel.

"Exactly. The Aoyamas have a long standing trait that makes it seem as if they were demons," explained Motoko. "I can't hold my demon form for long, but I can use it if necessary."  
"I see, so when does my training for this sacred skill start?" I asked.

"Tomorrow morning, at dawn," said Motoko.

"Alright then, I'll see you then, Motoko-chan," I said as we found Naru's room.


	14. Chapter 14: Visiting Naru

Well it's nice to see some feedback after a chapter again. And to answer your question Crimson, I'd wait a few months in the story before asking that. They've only known each other as friends for what, 2-3 months at this point.

***

"Urgh," I groaned as I sat down at the table for breakfast.

"Hey, what's wrong, Chaos?" asked Shinobu.

"Early training sessions with Motoko are definitely not my forte," I told her. Not feeling well was an understatement for how I was feeling; I was completely drained of energy from Motoko's training.

"Why do you have to train so early?" asked Keitaro.

"It is tradition in the Shinmei-Ryu school to train early," explained Motoko.

"Wait, I thought you were already awesome with a sword?" pressed Keitaro.

"The Shinmei-Ryu's duty is to defeat evil spirits," started Motoko. "What Chaos requested of me was a technique to seal demons away."

"I see," said Shinobu. "Does this have anything to do with Law in any way?" accused Shinobu.

"Let me answer that with a rhetorical question," I started. "Do any of you wish to end up in the hospital like Naru?"

"If it'll get me out of payin the rent," joked Mitsune.

"OOH! I wanna go up in the air like Naru did!" exclaimed Kaolla. Everyone just stared at her in disbelief.

"Su, a-are you sure?" asked Shinobu.

"Yup! Going up into the air that high looks fun!" replied Kaolla.

"Somehow, I'm not feeling so hungry anymore," I said pushing away my plate. "I'm just gonna wait in my room until we go to visit Naru," I said, leaving the dining room. I got to my room and began to meditate on the day's events so far. Motoko's training really was rough; I didn't think training of any kind would wear me so thin. I did manage to make slight progress, as I now have a very basic understanding of demon sealing techniques. According to Motoko, the sealing technique is different for each person who uses it, depending on how they fight. The traditional Shinmei-Ryu demon sealing technique is a ki wave that goes through the target, slicing the demon inside the target.

I was knocked out of my thoughts as I heard someone's knocks on my door. "Chaos-kun, it's time to go!" called Shinobu. I got up and went over to open the door.

"Thank you, Shinobu-chan," I said to her as I opened the door.

"It's no problem, I wouldn't want you to be late to see Naru," said Shinobu as we started walking towards the lobby.

"Heh, I don't know if Naru wants to see someone who looks almost exactly like the person who sent her to the hospital," I joked. "But, I'll go anyways,"

"Don't be like that, Chaos-kun. I'm sure Naru would want to see you," assured Shinobu.

"Heh, we'll see," I said. Turns out, I was right and Naru tried to get out of her hospital bed to attack me.

"COME OVER HERE YOU BASTARD!" exclaimed Naru as soon as I walked through the door.

"Whoa, Naru, why do I gotta die?" I joked.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SENT ME HERE!" shouted Naru as she attempted to clamber out of bed. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," groaned Naru when pain shot through her during her attempt to rise up and attack me.

"That was my twin brother," I protested.

"Yeah right, that's the oldest story in the book! What's next, are you going to tell me that Keitaro's not actually a two time Ronin?"

"Uhh, Naru-chan?" said Keitaro.

"What?" snapped Naru as she put on a face of horror. "Wait, you mean…"

"Yes, Naru, that's what he's been trying to say," replied Keitaro.

"You AREN'T a two time Ronin?" exclaimed Naru in disbelief. Everyone fell over on the ground in unison at this. "What, are you a three, four, maybe five time Ronin?"

"I'm talking about Chaos having a twin!" shouted Keitaro.

"That, unlike your theory of Keitaro not being a two time Ronin, is true," reaffirmed Motoko.

"I don't buy it," said Naru. "Sure, the facial structure, height, and hair style were similar, but that's it! Chaos here wears a lot of black, while the guy who was fighting Chaos was practically the embodiment of white!"

"That's cuz when we were younger, we never wanted to be confused for one another, so we decided to look the exact opposite of each other. I was the 'black' twin, and he was the 'white' twin," I explained. "Our personalities don't really match up with our colors, but it works for us."

"So where's the proof that you guys are twins?" pressed Naru.

"Why would he be carrying proof that they're twins?" asked Keitaro.

"What would the proof be?" asked Mitsune.

"I think I got something here in my wallet…" I said, digging through my wallet. "Here's a photo of the two of us when we both practiced Kendo at the Majin Shinsetsu school," I said, daring to walk to Naru to hand her the old photograph. Everyone came over to steal a glance at the picture.

"Aww, you two were so cute when you were younger!" said Shinobu.

"Wow, the resemblance is remarkable," noted Motoko.

"You guys really looked like twins back then," said Mitsune. "Aside from the odd color contrast, 'course," added Mitsune.

"Alright, fine, I believe you, but explain to me why he wants you dead," demanded Naru.

"Great, I gotta tell the story again…" I muttered before I began repeating Law's tale of his decent into chaos. "…And now he's out for my blood," I finished.

"Wow… you two are the weirdest twins I've ever met," joked Naru. "But in all seriousness, that's a sad tale… It's a wonder you're so bright and optimistic with that in your past."

"Always good to see something bright in a sea of darkness," I commented. "Law always was the dead serious one, barely cracking jokes or fooling around."

"How are you taking this so well?!" questioned Naru. "Your brother's practically DEAD!"

"Not dead, rather, comatose," I corrected. "In theory, if the demon possessing Law is purged from his body, he'll go back to his old self, for better or for worse," I said, thinking about how we often disagreed on even the simplest of things. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'm gonna go practice demon purging. I hope you get well soon, Naru-chan," I said as I left. Right before I turned the corner in the hallway to head to the exit, I heard a loud crash behind me, with a loud cry of "BAKA!" followed by Shinobu crying and running in my direction.

"Hey, Shinobu-chan, what's wrong?" I asked, grabbing her shoulder as she passed me.

"We-well Keitaro accidentally pulled Naru's hospital gown," choked out Shinobu between tears.

"Wha-?" I asked as I turned around. True to her word, Keitaro was in a crumpled heap on the ground outside of Naru's room. "Damn, he was never this accident prone a few years back," I commented as I walked over to him with Shinobu.

"Dude, get up!" I commanded.

"Rggh… can't… feel… my… spine…" groaned Keitaro, obviously in pain.

"Senpai? Are you ok?" asked Shinobu.

"I don't think he's in any condition to answer that right now," I commented. "Here, try this," I said, forcing a small, round, solidified, yellow gel candy (AN: think of a chewy cough drop) from my messenger bag into his mouth.

Keitaro chewed the thing for a little bit and swallowed it. Suddenly, the life sprang back into his form and he jumped up. "WOW!" exclaimed Keitaro in surprise. "What was that?" asked Keitaro.

"Just some medicine from the pharmacy near home," I told him. "The guy told me these were perfect for people who love candy. There aren't any negative effects if you eat too many or eat them when your feeling fine," I explained.

"Really?" asked Shinobu. "M-may I try one?"

"Sure, what flavor do you want? I got apple, lemon, orange, and pineapple," I told her, looking into my bag.

"I'll try apple," said Shinobu. I complied with her request and handed her a red gel candy. She chewed it for a bit and swallowed, much like Keitaro minutes before, and her face lit up in ecstasy. "WOW!" exclaimed Shinobu, still mirroring Keitaro. "This is medicine?" asked Shinobu.

"Yup, I couldn't believe it either when I bought these," I said. "Hey, these are like super painkillers… I'll give a pack to Naru!" I announced as I opened Naru's door.

"Oh? Chaos-kun? You're back already?" asked Mitsune.

"Yup, I've got something for Naru," I said, reaching into my bag.

"Really? What is it?" asked Naru.

"Is it a banana? I want a banana!" exclaimed Kaolla. "Can I have the banana?"

"Su! The banana's for me!" exclaimed Naru. "Err, if it is a banana, that is," said Naru, masking her mistake.

"Why would you get her a banana?" asked Motoko.

"Why the hell did you all think it was a banana?" I asked in disbelief. I walked over to Naru and handed her an unopened box of the yellow gel medicine that looked like a band-aid box.

"Huh? What's this?" asked Naru, looking at the box. "Lemon gel?" read Naru. "Thanks, but the doctor said not to eat any candy until I got better," said Naru.

"It's not candy," said Shinobu, walking into the room.

"Those are some really good painkillers!" exclaimed Keitaro, also walking into the room.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Naru. "The box looks like a little box of candy, and I've never heard of any kind of medicine called 'Lemon Gel'," mused Naru.

"Well that's some really expensive medicine, and it's well worth it too," I commented. "Go on, try one, it's not gonna kill you."

"I don't know…" said Naru.

"It can't hurt, can it Naru?" assured Mitsune. "But, hey, if you don't trust the stuff, then we'll all take one, right?" said Mitsune, expectantly looking at the rest of us.

"Of course!" exclaimed Shinobu and Keitaro in unison.

"I want one!" exclaimed Kaolla.

"These aren't addictive and harmful to your health, right?" cautiously asked Motoko.

"Nope, the guy at the pharmacy said these had no negative health effects," I assured her. "Although, the addictiveness is something that probably can't be helped," I joked.

"If that's the case, then I'll try one," said Motoko.

"It's settled then!" exclaimed Mitsune. "Naru, crack open that box and give us all one!"

"Whoa, hold on! Don't take Naru's!" I protested. "I usually carry 5-7 boxes of these, take a piece from one of those!" I said, pulling out an opened box of Lemon Gels. I passed one out to everyone and Naru opened her box, taking out one of the small gels.

"On the count of three," started Mitsune. "One." Everyone grasped their gel between their thumb and index finger. "Two." Everyone then moved their gel close to their mouth. "Three!" exclaimed Mitsune as everyone ate their gel. Everyone's face lit up with ecstasy soon after everyone swallowed in unison.

"So simple… yet so sweet and addicting…" said Motoko, the first person to break the silence.

"Can I have another?!" exclaimed Kaolla.

"Wow, these are tasty," commented Mitsune.

"What'd I tell ya?" I said.

"These are amazing!" explained Naru. "I feel completely rejuvenated!"

"Really?" asked Keitaro. "Are you well enough to check out of this place?"

"I wouldn't recommend it," I mused. "These'll speed up the recovery process, but you still need a little more rest before you'll be able to leave," I explained.

"What's all the hubbub?" asked a doctor who poked his head through the door. "Hey, is that that new Gel medicine that's all the rage in the medical community?"

"I don't know about that, but it's the Gel medicine alright," I said, tossing one over to the doctor. He did the oh-so-familiar chew, swallow, and then wore an ecstasy riddled face routine that I've seen quite a few times today.

"Now that's some good stuff!" exclaimed the doctor. "This stuff would make a lot of recoveries go much faster! Too bad the budget doesn't allow for us to buy these right now," said the doctor as he walked out.

"That was… odd," I commented.

"Is there a banana flavor?" asked Kaolla.

"No, they only had Apple, Lemon, Orange, and Pineapple," I explained. "I think I really should start my training now, though, so I'll see ya guys later," I said, leaving the room again. I quickly found the forest near the hospital where I dueled Motoko only a day before and looked around for something I could use as a target. I heard the leaves rustling behind me and turned to see who it was. "Who's there?" I called, gripping the Last Fencer.

"Looking for something to practice on?" asked Motoko, who apparently had followed me.

"Oh, it's you. Yeah, ya pegged it," I said. "I'm guessing you followed me to either train with me, or you wanted more Gels."

"Mostly the training thing, but the Gels don't really sound too bad," said Motoko. "How many Gels did you buy anyways?"

"Two, maybe four crates?" I replied.

"Why would you buy that many?" asked Motoko.

"Cuz it's good medicine for battles," I replied. "Just reach into wherever you're storing them and eat one."

"But four crates?"

"Well, Kaolla's probably gonna raid my stash, so I think it's safe to assume I'm gonna need a few crates."

"Fair enough, now, shall we begin?" asked Motoko, holding out her blade.

"If you're here to spar, then sorry, but I gotta work on the demon purging," I rebuked.

"Well, just show me what you've got then," offered Motoko.

"Alright then, that I will do!" I exclaimed, readying my sword.

"Come at me with what you've got!" shouted Motoko, not moving to do anything. She was serious about seeing my skill, apparently.

"Let's go!" I shouted, rushing in to strike. I started with a few quick strikes which were meant to weaken my opponent before I started with the attack. I finished my combo and felt a surge of power go through me. "Majiwara zarishi inochi ni," I chanted, drawing a smaller sword from the power that surged through my blade. "Ima mo tarasen setsuna no kiseki," I continued, slashing at Motoko more and more, launching her into the air. "Toki wo hete… Koko ni yuugou seshi mirai he no taidou!" I finished, going further with my attack with several overhead slashes from both blades. "GISHOUKEN!" I shouted as I brought down both blades in a crescent moon shaped slash. I didn't expect the strike to bounce off Motoko though, so my attack went interrupted, the energy sword in my left hand dissipating as I was thrown back in surprise. "Boku ni wa… muri da…" I muttered, unable to complete the demon purging attack.

"Only one day, and you've already managed to form a near complete attack to exorcise demons…" commented Motoko.

"Urgh, that usually doesn't drain me like that," I commented, collapsing from the loss of energy used to power my attack.

"It drains your energy, doesn't it?"

"Like I said; it usually doesn't drain me like that."

"Wait, you've used it before?"

"Yeah, there's a version of it that's the pride and joy of the Majin Shinsetsu school; this is a variation of my variation of the attack," I explained. "The way my demon sealing variation works, I have to strike someone or something that's possessed by a demon."

"It's certainly a powerful one," said Motoko as she sat down next to me, rubbing at any injuries caused by my assault. "May I have one of those gels?"

"Sure, how many?" I asked, pulling out the box of lemon gels.

"Two should be sufficient," said Motoko.

"Two it is," I said, pulling out four. I gave her two and ate my two gels. Instantly, I felt the energy coming back to me and I sat up straight.

"Those really are miracle gels, aren't they," joked Motoko, unaware that there was a gel product named 'Miracle Gel'.

"Nah, they were sold out of those," I replied.

"What are you talking about?"

"They were sold out of Miracle Gels at the store; I couldn't buy any."

"There's a- never mind, I don't think I want to know," said Motoko.

We sat in the woods like that for a few more minutes. I decided to break the silence and asked a question. "Why did you follow me out here this time?" I asked.

"I was about to follow you last time when you left, but then you came back with the Gels," replied Motoko.

"And you decided to follow me why?" I asked.

"It doesn't hurt to help train a pupil of the demon sealing arts, does it?"

"I suppose it doesn't," I said, looking at the setting sun. "Now then, shall we get going?"


	15. Chapter 15: Keitaro's First Exam Score

Well Crimson, I'm glad to hear that you enjoy my work so far, I enjoy hearing from you and whatever other fans I have. And the battle between Law and Chaos (ya know, that sounds kinda like a conflict from Shin Megami Tensei) isn't gonna happen for a few more chapters, but I'll do my best to make it the best I can. Enjoy the chapter.

***

It was January 16, the first day for the Toudai exams. Nothing had happened since Naru had checked out of the hospital; no sudden appearances from Law, so I was glad that there was a little peace at the dorm.

"We're back!" called out the voice of Naru from the front door. Hearing the voice, the five of us dorm residents who hadn't been at the testing center all headed towards the lobby.

"Oh! You're back!" said Shinobu, walking through the door.

"How'd the first day of exams go?" asked Mitsune, also walking through the door.

The both of them stopped and stared downwards. When the rest of us went through the door, our vision traveled to the same place as theirs. Right at Keitaro, groveling on the floor. "Kitsune, I don't think Keitaro needs to answer that," I remarked.

"Well I didn't do that bad, it's just that I did poorly on English, World History, and Math… but just those subjects," said Keitaro, putting up a confident façade.

"Weren't those all the exam subjects for today?" remarked Naru.

"Erk- Well I was short on time so I relied on my 6th sense for most of the answers…" said Keitaro, who began to grovel again.

"Dude, if you need any help with English, feel free to ask me," I offered.

"Thanks, but I don't think you know enough English to help me out," said Keitaro.

"Here I thought you'd know that I was born to American parents, who always spoke English around the house," I remarked.

"Y-you were?" asked Keitaro. "OH! Right! You were! In that case, I'll ask if I need help with English then!"

"So that explains why you're good at English," said Motoko.

"When you've lived with American parents who prefer to speak English for 16 years, you tend to pick up the language."

"Did you do poorly on the exam?" asked Shinobu.

"Shinobu! Well, uhh… I promise you! I will do better tomorrow!" exclaimed Keitaro. "You definitely don't need to worry!"

"Ah… o-ok!" stammered Shinobu.

"I've just gotten off at a slow start… my engine will kick in no time!" exclaimed Keitaro, who began to pat Naru's shoulder for some reason.

"You've taken it three times, what good is it for you to turn it on now?" sarcastically remarked Naru.

"There shouldn't be any problems no-GAH!" said Keitaro as he slipped on the floor as he began to strut away.

"That was… odd," I commented after Keitaro had gone out of earshot.

The next night, Keitaro and Naru returned from another day of testing; Keitaro looking paler than usual. "Wel… well later, I have to calculate my score," said Keitaro as he walked up to his room mere minutes after greeting him.

"Is he going to be ok?" asked Mitsune. "What are the scores he's getting? And please, explain the exam to me!"

"If you need the exam to be explained, why do you pretend like you know about it?" I remarked.

"Well, Kitsune, it works like this:" started Motoko. "The score you get at the mock exams determine if you can apply for an entrance exam for a certain college. The mock exam is the first step in this process. The next step is the actual college exam. The examination department isn't going to tell you your score, so the students look at an answer key and calculates their score themselves. In Keitaro's case, his score will determine if he's qualified to enroll or not."

"Little lengthy, aren't we?" I teased.

"I finished calculating my score," said Naru, who had walked into the room, interrupting whatever Motoko would've said.

"What's the damage?" I asked. Naru just smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"Nice job!" I exclaimed. The other girls showed their awe as they clapped their hands together.

"766 points?" asked Mitsune, looking at Naru's score. "Is that good?"

"Yes, I shouldn't have any problems at all," replied Naru.

"That's great!" exclaimed Shinobu.

"I'm so relieved!" exclaimed Kaolla.

"That just leaves him…" said Mitsune.

"Huh, I thought Keitaro woulda been done by now…" I commented.

"I haven't heard from him yet," said Mitsune.

"I hope he's ok…" said worried Shinobu.

"He has to get at least 500 points… but judging from the way that he looked…" trailed off Naru.

"He didn't do well in the exam?" asked Kaolla.

"If he failed a third time, it's surely going to be a huge blow to his ego," said Mitsune.

"But… but he can't..." started Shinobu.

"Wait… now that you mention it… I noticed that he looked kinda depressed a while ago," commented Motoko.

"Huh?!" shouted Shinobu.

"Wait… you don't mean…?" I asked.

"He's locked himself in his room to commit suicide!" exclaimed Mitsune. A similar grim possessed the faces of the girls as they all thought what I believe to be the same thing: Keitaro hanging himself.

"Come on, he wouldn't do that," I tried to assure the girls. It didn't work and they continued to wear the very grim expression. The only thing that shook the expression from their faces was the sounds of laughing coming from Keitaro's room. "See, he's still alive!"

"Yeah, but the way he's laughing is strange though," remarked Naru.

"By the looks of it, he failed the exam," remarked Mitsune.

"Either way, that incessant laughing's really starting to get to me," I said while walking towards Keitaro's door. "Dude! Keep your voice down man!" I shouted at him through the door. He stopped laughing, and showed up at his door less than two minutes later.

"Hey! Everybody!!" shouted Keitaro, who looked really excited. "Listen to what I have to say!"

"Ke-Kei-Keitaro!" exclaimed Mitsune in surprise.

"I actually…" started Keitaro as he looked at the faces of the girls. I looked too, wondering what managed to make him stop mid sentence. Yet again, the girls wore an expression of despair. "M-my score…" said Keitaro as he attempted to continue.

"Oh right! I have something important to attend to!" said Mitsune as she walked away in a huff.

"I have to practice now. Are you coming, Chaos-kun?" said Motoko.

"Sorry, not today," I replied.

"Ok then," said Motoko as she walked off in a similar fashion as Mitsune.

"I need to study now," said Naru, leaving similarly to the other two girls. I looked around and noted that Kaolla somehow managed to slip away from Keitaro, Shinobu and I.

"What's with them?" asked Keitaro as Shinobu began to shift uncomfortably.

"Ya got me," I replied.

"Hey Shinobu, I…" started Keitaro before he noticed that the young girl began to tear up.

"Her too?" I asked. "Come on, let's go!" I shouted, beginning to run after her.

"Go where?" asked Keitaro who began to follow me.

"I CAN'T HEAR IT! I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING!!!" shouted Shinobu, covering her ears.

"What else?" I asked.

"Shinobu, wait!!" shouted Keitaro as we passed a doorway that Motoko and Mitsune were conversing in.

"Kitsune? Motoko? I thought you had business to attend to?" I asked.

"Well, you know how we reacted to Kei…" started Motoko before she stopped mid-sentence.

"Oh! Kitsune? Motoko!?" said Keitaro as he noticed whom I was speaking to.

"Sorry, Chaos-kun, gotta run!" exclaimed the two girls as they dashed away.

"Not again!" I said as I began to chase the two.

"What's with everybody? Please listen to what I have to say!" exclaimed Keitaro.

"Urp! Sorry, gotta use the bathroom, it's nearly out!" exclaimed Mitsune, clutching her groin.

"I have to get caught up with my training!" exclaimed Motoko, who began swinging her sword up and down.

"Kitsune…" said Keitaro as we stopped in front of the bathroom Mitsune dashed in to.

"Hey, Motoko, Keitaro has…" I started, turning to Motoko who had stopped not far from us.

"HYAAA!" shouted Motoko as she started swinging her blade to form a familiar gyroscope around her body.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed in surprise.

"Chaos, when I practice alone, coming near me is dangerous. Please, be careful!" exclaimed Motoko.

"If you want me to train with you that badly, I'll train with you later," I said, walking away.

"What's happening here?" asked Keitaro.

"I dunno, what do you gotta tell everyone?"

"Well, I calculated my score, and I got 600 points exactly!" said Keitaro.

"Really?" I said in near disbelief. "Wow, those girls really need to listen and not run away in fear…" I muttered to myself.

"What was that?"

"Oh nothing, hey look, it's Su!" I exclaimed, pointing at Su, who for some reason had a PS2 on her head, wearing weird goggles, and apparently playing the system right there on the spot.

"Su, please listen to me…" pleaded Keitaro as we walked up to her.

"Severing Wind! Now Dragon Tempest!" shouted Su, absorbed in her game. "La, la, I can't play with you right now. I might die in this new video game," said Su as she went on with her game.

"Su, Tales of the Abyss came out like three or four years ago. It's not a new video game," I informed her.

"What was that?" asked Su. "Ack! Nonononono!" exclaimed Su as she apparently almost died. Taking that as a cue, Keitaro and I began to walk away.

"Well, that's four out of the five girls," I commented. "Let's try to find Naru."

"Heeey, Narusegawaaa! Where are you?" called Keitaro.

"Naru? You there?" I called. "I got more lemon gels!"

"Lemon gels?" questioned Keitaro. "Really?"

"What? They're highly addictive, taste great, and have no negative health effects," I protested.

"Just forget it," sighed Keitaro. "Why doesn't anyone want to bask in my glory? Wait, could it be…? Did this year's passing score get raised? Did I fail?! That must be it! Everybody knows this! It's impossible. There's no way I would have been able to get a score this high!"

"Dude, Naru says the passing score's 500 points. You'll be fine."

"Really? Phew, that had me really worried."

"Uh, s-senpai?" called the young, shaky voice of Shinobu.

"Hey Shinobu, what's up?" I asked.

"Uh, erm, well, senpai, do you want to take a bath with me?" asked Shinobu, blushing and holding up bathing supplies.

"Huuh?" asked both Keitaro and I in unison. "O-ok, Shinobu-chan," answered Keitaro as he walked over to the hot springs changing area. Shinobu hung back and looked over at me.

"Do you want to come too, Chaos-kun?"

"Answer me first, what's going on?"

"Well, Keitaro seems like he's going to fail again and the rest of us think he's going to commit suicide, so we decided to try and cheer him up by letting him take a bath with us," explained Shinobu.

"OOHH! So you and the others were… Umm, he wasn't considering suicide, but he could use a little pick-me-up," I commented. "You guys running from him got him really upset, so this'll help."

"O-ok then, so do you still want to come?"

"Sure, Shinobu-chan," I answered. Anything to see how this'll end up. If I remember right, Keitaro's horrible at putting up charades. About 10 minutes later, Keitaro and I were changed into swim trunks awaiting Shinobu's invitation into the springs.

"What's happening?" asked Keitaro. "Am I dreaming?"

"No, but I think the girls feel bad about running from you, so they're letting you in to up your spirits," I suggested.

"Then why you too?"

"Ya got me, I figure they think I'm trustworthy enough to bathe with them, or they want me to help up your spirits since they're sure I'm pretty much your best friend."

"Chaos-kun, senpai…" said a timid Shinobu who was blushing. "I'm ready, p-please, come in…"

"Alright then," I called to Shinobu. "Come on, man, time to get the show on the road."

"Welcome!" exclaimed all of the girls, towel-clad, as we walked through the door to the springs. Keitaro started freaking out; possibly because he thinks the girls didn't expect him here. While he was freaking out, Mitsune came up to me. "Hey, what're you doin here?"

"Well, Shinobu told me what you guys were up to, and she invited me too," I explained.

"Well, that's ok then," said Mitsune, lowering her guard.

"Wh-what are you gonna do to me?" asked Keitaro, quaking in his skin.

"We wanna make you happy, don't you want that?" said Mitsune. "Look!" With that, she, and the other girls pulled off their towels, revealing their swimsuit-clad figures.

"That figures," I joked to myself.

"Wait, but-what?" stammered Keitaro.

"Baka! I'm wearing a swimsuit!" admonished Mitsune.

"Su and Motoko also!" chirped Su.

"Let's start the inspirational party!" shouted Mitsune.

"Yaay!" cheered Su.

"Yeah!" I cheered.

"Don't look so gloomy, Keitaro. Here, drink up," said Mitsune, pouring him a drink from a bottle of questionable origin.

"Are you having difficulty studying?" asked Motoko. "I'll give you a massage to help you, how's that?"

"Oh, and you don't give me one when I ask?" I sarcastically mused.

"You're not at all stressed and don't show signs of stress; what reason would there be to give you one?" quipped Motoko. "Ok Keitaro, lie down on your stomach," commanded Motoko. She straddled him and began the 'massage'. "Hmph! Your back is stiff."

"Ow, ow, ow, ow… IT HUUUUURTS!" cried out Keitaro.

"Uhh, I don't think I want that massage anymore…" I said.

"And… there, done," said Motoko. "How was that?"

"Painful!" replied Keitaro. "Though this is nice, since the first time I came here, this is the first time you girls have been so nice to me. Even though my score is 600, I'm still very happy, thanks!" All the girls just stared at Keitaro in shock.

"You probably shouldn't have said that," I whispered to him.

"How much, you say?" asked Mitsune.

"600…?"

"Hey, Naru, how much is 600?"

"It-it shouldn't be a problem…" With this, a great tension plagued the air as Motoko and Kitsune visibly showed their annoyance and anger.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO EARLIER!?!" shouted Motoko as they began chasing him.

"In his defense, I say that you guys didn't give him a chance, and just assumed the worst," I said calmly. "Right, Shinobu?"


	16. Chapter 16: Happy Valentine's Day

Thanks for the reviews Crimson, I try my best, and I will continue to try my best, so enjoy.

***

"Let's see what's in the fri… Keitaro? What are you doing in the kitchen so late?" I asked, walking into the kitchen, looking for a midnight snack. It was February 13, the day before Valentine's Day.

"I could ask you the same thing, but what I'm doing is making another dummy chocolate for Valentine's Day," replied Keitaro, mixing ingredients into a bowl.

"Dude, you really need to find a girlfriend," I joked. "That, or find a job as a gourmet dessert chef."

"Hey, right now, my top priority is getting into Toudai!"

"Uh huh, right,"

"So what brings you here?" asked Keitaro.

"Oh, I was looking for a snack… Ah hah!" I exclaimed mid-sentence.

"What?"

"I just remembered I had a few chocolate bars in the cabinet!" I said as I began to rummage through a cabinet. "Uhh, where are my chocolate bars?"

"Were they… uhh… King-sized Hershey bars?" said Keitaro, putting his work into the oven

"Yeah, those are the kind- Did you use my chocolate bars in your cake?" I accused

"Yeah, sorry about that, I'll go buy you a few packs of bacon later to make up for it, ok?"

"And two chocolate bars?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," said Keitaro, turning to the oven. "Are you still looking for something to eat?"

"Yeah, I am. Normally, I'd eat a box of gels or a pack of bacon, but I kinda want something chocolatey tonight," I replied.

"Well you can have the leftover chocolate mix if you want," offered Keitaro.

"Really? Well, I'd better not let this go to wast- GIMME THAT CHOCOLATE!" I exclaimed as I hastily scooped up the bowl of chocolate mix.

"How do you not have diabetes?" questioned Keitaro. "And for that matter, how are you so thin?"

"I am a practitioner of Kendo, thank you very much," I said, stuffing the chocolate mousse-like substance into my mouth.

"Well then, I guess this is good night," said Keitaro.

"Nah, I think I wanna see how your cake turns out," I said, putting the now completely clean bowl in the sink.

"Suit yourself," said Keitaro as he took the cake out of the oven. He put a few icing flowers on the cake before he proudly held it up. "It's done! Keitaro's Special Valentine's Chocolate Cake '09, with over 100 ingredients, and almonds! It's fabulous! Girls can't make this kind of chocolate!"

"Dude, you really need a girlfriend if you make a speech like that; might I suggest you give that to a girl?"

"But I worked so hard on this… I don't want someone to just throw it in my face when I give it to them," said Keitaro, shrinking a little.

"Well, you do whatever you want."

"I will!" exclaimed Keitaro, gathering his pride again. "My skill can easily match any gourmet chefs! Let's see who can laugh at me this time!" said Keitaro as he skipped off to his room. I began to walk back up to my room with one thought sitting in my mind. 'Keitaro really needs to get laid.'

The next day, after school, I was just lounging on the couch when Mitsune came up to me. "Huh? Hey Kitsune, what's up?"

"As you know, it's Valentine's day, so I thought I'd get you something," said Mitsune. "Here's the chocolate!" exclaimed Mitsune as she handed me a very small gift-wrapped box.

"Well, it's nice to get chocolates on Valentines Day, even if it is only slightly bigger than one of the gel medicines," I said, accepting the tiny present.

"Well, I'll see you later," waved Mitsune as she walked away. I stuck the little box in my school bag in a pocket that was loaded with chocolate I got from my 'female fanclub' earlier today. Shinji and Phal just stared in awe as the piles of chocolate grew bigger; most of it's in my shoe locker! I don't think Motoko approved of my fanclub though, she scared them off if they swarm around me.

"Hey Chaos! Eat this!" shouted Su as she jumped on top of me, forcing a brown brick… of questionable origin into my mouth. The very moment the brick touched my tongue, I sensed that something was wrong. After one bite, it was clear that this brick isn't edible. After Su had gotten off of me, I immediately spit out the inedible brick.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?" I demanded after I had regained some of my composure. "I mean, what kinda-" I stopped as I began to cough a little.

"Its Valentine's Day chocolate!" chirped Kaolla. "I put curry in it!"

"What the- WHY WOULD YOU PUT CURRY IN CHOCOLATE? Besides… Curry's supposed to be like 'really spicy' or 'kinda mild'… This just stinks! And it's gritty too! Somehow, it's both gritty and slimy, with odd squishy parts in it! It's so freakin nasty I can't even swallow it!" I shouted. "I'm sorry to yell at you, but please, NEVER make curry like that again!"

"Alrighty then! I'll go fix up the recipe for Keitaro's chocolate!" chirped Su as she skipped away.

"What did she put in it?" asked Shinobu, walking into the room carrying a small box, eying the inedible brick on the floor. "I heard you yelling from the kitchen."

"I don't know, I don't want to know, and I don't want to be reminded of that… that thing ever again…" I shuddered.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" asked Shinobu, breaking off a small piece of the brick.

"Shinobu, for the love of anything sane, don't eat the chocolate. I wouldn't joke about it," I warned her. I was ignored as she sampled the chocolate. Less than three seconds later, her eyes widened and she spit out the tiny piece, doubling over on the ground, clutching her stomach.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" muttered Shinobu.

"Yeah… I'm throwin this as far away as I can," I said, lifting the clearly inedible block taking up space on the floor. I walked over to the window and chucked it as far away as I could toss it. Luckily for me, I managed to toss the block over to the dump. "Urp… I'm gonna need a lot of chocolate to wash away that foul taste," I mused as I went over to find a large chocolate bar in my bag.

"Oh, that reminds me!" said Shinobu, regaining her composure. "Here, this is for you," said Shinobu, handing me a box.

"Well, more chocolate!" I exclaimed, happy that I didn't have to dig out a suitable chocolate bar from my bag. "Wait, you didn't let Su near this, did you?" I cautiously asked.

The color drained from Shinobu's face as she recalled the taste of Su's monstrosity. "N-no!"

"Thank you; I never want to taste that again," I said as I opened the box. Inside it was a cookie that said 'Best of luck'. "Aww, thank you, Shin-chan, you shouldn't have," I said as I took a bite. "Wow, now that is a huge improvement!" I exclaimed as I savored the taste.

"Th-thank you!" exclaimed Shinobu in pride. "Well, I'll see you later, I'm going to go give this one to Keitaro," said Shinobu as she started to leave.

"Oh wait, I'll go with you," I said, slinging my bag over my shoulder and getting off the couch. We walked over to the lobby, but not to the lobby as Shinobu decided to hide behind the door. I looked outside and saw that Keitaro was coming back from wherever he was for the day. "You can do it, Shin-chan!" I whispered.

"Keitar…" was all Shinobu managed to say before Mitsune waltzed into the lobby, anticipating Keitaro's return.

"Hiya! You're back! Keitaro!" chirped Mitsune.

"Ah! Uhh time to dust the place…!" exclaimed Shinobu, covering up her intentions.

"What's up Kitsune?" asked Keitaro

"Here's some chocolate!" said Mitsune, handing over a small parcel similar to the one she handed me minutes before.

"Wow…! Really, Mitsune?! Yipee! First time! Chocolate from a girl!" exclaimed Keitaro in excitement. Even I had to smile at Keitaro's first chocolate from a girl on Valentine's Day, even though the chocolate was pathetically small.

Grinning at Keitaro's over joyous face, she pulled out a shopping catalogue. "Remember to give me back this stuff on March 14! I want this jacket, and this watch, and this…" went on Mitsune as she pointed out stuff that she wanted. Somehow, I find irony in the fact that she didn't ask the person who had tons of money for all of the stuff in the catalogue. "Haha, keep working hard!" said Mitsune as she walked out.

"Come on Shinobu, your turn," I cheered her on, mentally pushing her on.

She nodded and tried calling over to Keitaro again. "Keit…" was all she managed to get out this time before Su assaulted Keitaro with a brick of chocolate.

"Hey Keitaro! Chocolate! Eat this!" shouted Su as she attempted to force the brick into his mouth.

"Keitaro, stop!" I shouted, trying to stop Su from forcing the brick into his mouth. I failed, unfortunately, and Keitaro was forced to the ground, clutching his stomach, much like Shinobu minutes earlier. "Su, please, never make that curry/chocolate mix again, please," I pleaded, looking at Keitaro's fallen form.

"What was in that…" said Keitaro. "That was clearly inedible…"

"It's curry flavored!" chirped Su.

"C-curry?! What kind of things do you put in chocolate?" demanded Keitaro.

"Save your breath Keitaro, I already tried yelling at her," I told him.

"You had one of those… things too?"

"Both me and Shinobu," I told him. I glanced over at Shinobu's perch as she began to call out Keitaro's name for the third time.

"Keit-" was how much she got out before Motoko interrupted her.

"Keitaro!" said Motoko. "Oh, Chaos-kun, you're here too. That'll save me some time."

"Oh, hi Motoko," said Keitaro.

"Hi, Motoko-chan!" I greeted her.

"This is for you, Chaos-kun," said Motoko as she handed me four chocolate bars wrapped together with a ribbon.

"Wow! Thanks Motoko!" I said, cheerfully accepting the chocolate.

"And Keitaro, since you're the manager, and I'm the tenant here, this is only a simple matter of manners and stuff; nothing more, nothing less," said Motoko.

"Huh?" asked a confused Keitaro.

"Here you go," said Motoko, handing Keitaro a pack of insta-chocolate mix.

"Wha- what's that?" asked Keitaro. "What the? Instant chocolate mix!? It's just chocolate powder!"

"Who cares? After you eat it, what's the difference?" argued Motoko.

"That's not the point! I mean, you got Chaos four bars of chocolate!" argued Keitaro. "You couldn't give me one of those?"

"As a really good friend of mine, I feel he deserves it! And chocolate to him is like alcohol to Kitsune!" defended Motoko.

"What? No, that's what bacon is to him!" shouted Keitaro.

"Actually, I'd have the same reaction to both," I pointed out.

"See!" shouted Motoko.

"Would you guys just stop fighting about the chocolate?!" I shouted, trying to end the argument. "Keitaro, just be glad you're getting chocolate from Motoko!"

"Well…" he stopped to think for a minute.

"Hmph, I have no time to argue, Chaos, I'm heading to the roof to train. Do you want to come?"

"Oh, sure, just let me get changed," I said, going over to the stairs.

"I'll meet you at the roof," said Motoko.

"Alright then, shall we begin?" I asked as I arrived on the roof.

"Yes, let's!" said Motoko, unsheathing her katana.

After the little training session, we were sitting on the roof, just enjoying the sunset. "Hah, look at us, spending Valentine's Day together, watching the sunset…" I joked.

"This is… rather nice," commented Motoko.

"What do you usually do on Valentine's Day?" I asked.

"E-excuse me?" asked Motoko.

"What do you usually do on Valentine's Day?" I repeated. "I don't usually do anything special, though last year I think I had a date," I reminisced.

"Oh, well, I usually train, and… nothing special really," answered Motoko.

"Ha, maybe we should do something special next year?"

"Haha, you're lucky you're not Keitaro," joked Motoko. "Maybe, maybe not," she replied.

"Oh there you two are," said Mitsune from behind us.

"Huh? What's goin on?" I asked before turning around.

"Dinner's ready, so are you coming?" asked Mitsune. "Or do you two have a dinner date?"

"That depends; did Su cook curry?" I joked.

"No, I don't think so," said Mitsune.

"Why do you need to ask?" asked Motoko.

"You don't want to try Su's curry. Don't do it; I wouldn't even joke about trying that slop," I said, walking over to the stairs.

Later that night, Motoko, Mitsune, Kaolla, and I were all in the lounge, doing whatever we saw fit. A loud, repetitive thumping was what caught our attention. "What's goin on?" I asked as the thumping faded.

"Let's go see! It sounds like fun!" exclaimed Su as she practically bounced over to the stairs.

"Everything sounds fun to you," I commented as I followed her.

"What's all the fuss about?" asked Mitsune as we arrived at the roof, where all the noise came from. The sight that awaited us was Keitaro, holding his cake, and Naru trying to get Shinobu to come back from the edge of the roof.

"Go away!" shouted Shinobu. "Go away!"

"Calm down and get over here first, Shinobu-chan!" shouted Keitaro.

"Don't jump!" shouted Naru.

"Wow! Where did this beautiful cake come from?" asked Mitsune, completely missing the fact that Shinobu was at the edge of the roof. "It must be a really cute girl for her to make something like that!"

I groaned inwardly as the Mitsune and Kaolla fawned over the cake. "YIKES!" shouted Mitsune as she slipped on one of her slippers.

"No!" exclaimed Keitaro as he jumped on to the roof to try and save Shinobu.

"Whoa, there, don't lean forward too far! I can barely keep my footing!" I said through gritted teeth as I grabbed the edge of Keitaro's sweater. Keitaro had just caught Shinobu's arm, and the rest of the girls were all helping to hold us back. Except for Kaolla, who had decided to go catch Shinobu's wrapped chocolate for Keitaro. "Come on guys… PULL!" I shouted, desperate to try to stay on the roof and not the ground in front of the front door.

"We're… trying!" shouted the girls. Eventually, someone slipped and Keitaro, Shinobu, and I toppled on the roof, a safe distance from the edge.

"Huh… senpai…" started Shinobu. "Sorry… for all of that…"

"Shinobu-chan…" started Keitaro. "This chocolate is… This chocolate is something I cooked up to show off to the other guys!" blurted out Keitaro. "I made it myself!"

"What?" asked Mitsune. The girls then started laughing at Keitaro's cake when Shinobu spoke up.

"Sorry, Keitaro-senpai," apologized Shinobu. "It was my fault… please accept this chocolate," said Shinobu, handing Keitaro her box. "Good luck on your exam, senpai."

"Thank you, Shinobu-chan," said Keitaro as he opened the box. Inside was a cookie, not unlike the one Shinobu handed me hours before, aside from the fact that it said 'Tokyo U Acceptance', and that the cookie was broken right down the middle.

"WAHHHHH! SORRY!" exclaimed Shinobu as she saw what happened to the cookie. "Yikes… what should I do…?" exclaimed Shinobu on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry, Shin-chan. It's ok, it may be broken, but you gave it to him anyways," I said, trying to comfort her.

"It tastes great, Shinobu-chan!" exclaimed Keitaro.

"Exam preparations must be really hard…" commented Shinobu. "10 days left… Please, try your best, senpai."


	17. Chapter 17: Trip to Kyoto

"Dude! Keitaro! Get off the roof!" I called to my landlord. He was sitting at the edge of the roof, sitting with his knees up to his chest. It was March 10, the day the exam results were posted. Keitaro's been sitting up on that rooftop since the exams were finished, only coming down to eat.

"No reaction from him at all…" said Su as she hopped off the roof after her failed attempt in rousing a reaction in Keitaro.

"Two weeks is long enough! The test is over!" I said to the girls.

"Isn't today the posting date?" asked Motoko. "Maybe he's like that because he did terrible on the second day?"

"Hey, what did happen on the second day?" asked Mitsune.

"How should I know?" said Naru. "After the test, he just withdrew from the world. No matter what I said, he wouldn't respond."

"But that morning, he seemed so energetic…" started Mitsune. "Did you say something bad to him?"

"I didn't say anything!" defended Naru.

I looked over at Keitaro again. Still in the same position he was in these past two weeks. I had one idea to try and rouse him, but I think it could be dangerous to his digestive system. I turned to Su and asked a question. "Hey, Su?"

"Hmm? Yes, Chaos-kun?" asked Su.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what?"

"I'm probably going to regret this, but can you make Keitaro some of your special knock-out-curry?" I gambled that Su's dish would shock him back into reality, though I don't think he'd be ok if he swallowed it.

"Ok!" shouted Su as she dashed to the kitchen.

"Where's she going?" asked Shinobu.

"To make Keitaro some curry," I answered.

"What!?" exclaimed Shinobu in disbelief. "Are you crazy!?"

"Possibly, but Keitaro really needs to get off the roof," I answered. "If this doesn't work, I'm gonna force him off," I said, pulling out my sword.

"Don't hurt him!" protested Shinobu.

"I'll try not to," I said.

"Then don't feed him the curry!"

"Alright, if the curry doesn't work, then I'll try something else," I said. "You wouldn't mind making a dish for one, would you?"

"Of course not, why?" asked Shinobu as she pondered my question. "Ohh, so if shocking him with bad taste doesn't work, then maybe a good taste will?"

"Bingo," I said.

"It's REAAAADY!" called Su as she dashed back with a plate of curry.

"What'cha got there?" asked Mitsune.

"Curry that Chaos asked me to make!" Mitsune's face went visibly pale at this.

"Chaos, are you quite sane?" asked Naru. "You of all people should know that Su's curry is inedible."

"Shinobu, would you mind explaining for me? I gotta get this curry used while it's still hot," I said, grabbing the plate. I hopped up on the roof and made my way over to Keitaro. "Hey, Keitaro, have some curry," I said, putting the plate next to him. He made no motion towards the plate at all. "Dude, here, eat," I said, pushing the plate closer. Again, he did nothing. "Alright, fine I'll feed ya," I said, lifting the plate and grabbing the spoon. I forced a spoon of the ungodly curry into his mouth, pulled the spoon out and put it down on top of the plate to watch the results. Almost instantaneously, Keitaro sprang to life and choked out the curry, in the process somehow tossing himself off the roof onto the tree tops. "That worked better than I thought," I quipped as I hopped back inside.

"Gack! What the hell, man!" shouted Keitaro as he got out of the foliage. "You know Su's curry isn't edible!"

"How else was I supposed to get you off the roof?" I defended.

"Why did you want me off the roof anyways!?"

"Cuz today the exam results are posted; Naru's waiting for you to go with her," I said, walking away. I went into the lounge, lay down on the couch and took a nap.

"Chaos-kun," called a voice that sounded like Motoko's. "Chaos-kun! Wake up!" demanded Motoko. I opened my eyes to see what I was needed for.

"Huh? What's going on?" I asked, brushing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Mitsune needs you to help Shinobu with the cooking," said Motoko.

"Cooking? For what?" I asked.

"The celebration party, of course," answered Motoko.

"Celebration part- Another one?" I asked.

"Yeah, Mitsune parties for every little thing, get used to it," said Motoko.

"How long was I asleep?"

"A few hours," said Motoko. "You got Keitaro off the roof at about noon, now its 5 pm.

"Alright, I'll go to the kitchen," I groggily said, getting off the couch. I walked over to the kitchen and was met with the sight of Shinobu slaving away at the stove. "Yaaawn, hi there, Shinobu," I greeted her.

"Hi Chaos-kun, enjoy your nap?"

"Up until the point when I was woken up," I joked, grabbing a kitchen knife. "So what do ya need me to do?"

"Mind what's on the stove while I ready the other dishes," commanded Shinobu.

"Got it, boss," I joked. Once the food was all set, I helped Shinobu set up all the food and drinks in the lounge. The decorations were all up, including a huge banner that said 'CELEBRATION PARTY'. The hours passed with no sign of the two testers. Before I knew it, I was waking up on the couch again, just in time for the sun rise. I looked over at the lounge and saw that nothing looked different from what I remembered last night, aside from the fact that everyone was sleeping. "What the hell? Did they show up" I mumbled to myself as I went upstairs to check Keitaro's room.

I got up to his door, stifled a yawn and knocked a few times. "Dude, Keitaro? You there?" I called. I didn't get a response so I pushed open the door and was met with a strange sight. Keitaro's room was a lot cleaner than usual, the futon was furled up in the corner, and Keitaro's travel bag was missing. I rifled through the room for a few minutes and found that a few changes of his clothes were missing with no note of where he went in sight. "What the hell?" I thought out loud as I left the room. I briefly considered whether it would be a good idea to investigate Naru's room as well, but decided against it as I'd rather not carry Keitaro's title of pervert. Feeling hungry, I went back down to the lounge and noted that Mitsune had already awoken. Grabbing a bowl of udon noodles, I started chomping away at the noodles.

"KYAA!" came the shrill screech of Mitsune from what sounded like the third floor.

"What's going on?!" exclaimed Motoko as she roused from her slumber, sword in hand.

"Did Keitaro and Naru come back?" asked Shinobu, also rising from her sleep. Somehow, Su managed to stay asleep through Mitsune's wail.

"No, I don't think they did, but let's go see what Kitsune's screaming about," I said, putting down my bowl of noodles. The three of us headed up the stairs to the third floor and walked over to Naru's room, which was the only open door. "What happened?" I asked Mitsune.

"R-read this!" exclaimed Mitsune, pushing a small index card into my hand.

"'Please don't follow me, Narusegawa Naru'" I read aloud. "Well, looks like both Keitaro and Naru have mysteriously vanished for the time being," I mused.

"What? Keitaro's gone missing?" asked Shinobu, fully awake.

"Yeah, I checked his room; a few changes of clothes were missing, and so was his travel bag," I explained. As she heard these words, she got teary eyed and ran out of the room. "Coulda guessed that would've happened."

"Well, what should we do about it?" asked Mitsune.

"I say we wait for one of them to contact us," suggested Motoko.

"I agree, right now, that's the best idea; if we try to contact them now, then they might not respond, so we let them contact us," I said. "That, and they both left their cell phones here," I pointed out, gesturing towards Naru's cell phone.

"Alright, fine, I'll leave the decisions up to you two," said Mitsune as she left the room. With that, we bided the time by going about our usual routines; Shinobu doing housework, albeit a little downhearted; Motoko training; Su doing whatever she pleases; and Mitsune lounging on the couch with a bottle of Sake in hand. I was just dawdling in the kitchen, making an ice cream float when I heard the phone ring, then the cheerful voice of Su.

"Hello? It's me, is that you, Naru?" chirped the energetic Su. I went over to the phone to see what was going on, as did the other girls. "What? Super express? Is that tasty?"

"What? Naru?" asked Mitsune as she went and pushed Su out of the way. "Where are you right now? What is the meaning of your note?" asked Mitsune. Just so everyone else could hear the conversation, I went over to the phone and hit the speakerphone button.

"Well, I wanted to get away for a while…" said Naru over the phone. "So I decided to take a trip."

"A trip?" I asked. "How'd you do on the exam?"

"Is that you Chaos? Don't worry, just make sure my message gets passed on… I want to go to Kyoto," said Naru. "About Toudai, I'll tell you guys about it when I get back… That's all. I am just informing you guys, don't worry."

"What do you mean, don't worry? Wait!" exclaimed Mitsune as Naru hung up. "Hello?"

"Too late, she hung up," I said as the phone started ringing again. "What the-?"

Su picked up the phone again. "This number does not exist…" said Su in her best automated voice. Su's little 'automated' message was met with a steaming tea pot to the back of her head by Shinobu, who then promptly picked up the phone.

"Hello? This is Hinata-sou," said Shinobu. "What? This is Urashima-senpai?" asked Shinobu. Hearing this, I hit the speakerphone button again. "Everyone's worried about you! Please come back soon!" pleaded Shinobu.

"Yeah man, where'd you go?" I asked.

"Sorry guys, but I'm on the super express to Kyoto right now," said Keitaro.

"Wait, the super express?" I asked in slight disbelief.

"Are you traveling alone?" asked Shinobu

"Yeah, I wanted to take a vacation," answered Keitaro. "Shinobu, despite the fact that I want to keep my promise to you…" was all that Keitaro managed to say before an audible click was heard over the phone.

"Ura-Urashima-senpai! What were you going to say?" What were you going to say?" desperately shouted Shinobu into the phone.

"Hold on a second; they both called from a super express to Kyoto, right?" I pointed out.

"You're not saying..." started Mitsune as the girls put on faces that showed their thoughts on Keitaro's and Naru's vacation; most of the faces being of shock.

"A ro...mantic get… getaway!?" said Shinobu as she fainted.

"Great, just great…" I mumbled to myself. Later, after Shinobu had woken up, I began to speak to all of the girls. "You seriously think they'd be on a romantic getaway with each other?" I asked.

"Well what else?" asked Mitsune.

"Then let me ask you this: what would you do if you failed a big exam that would let you into a big name university or job?" I asked.

"Well, I'd go on a vacatio- oh, that's what you're getting at," said Mitsune.

"Exactly my point; they've just left on vacation without knowing of the other's plan is my best guess at the situation," I explained.

"But how can you be so sure?" asked Shinobu.

"Kitsune should know the answer to that; she's left the little travel guide in the lounge for so long now," I said, referring to a travel guide about Kyoto that's been sitting in the lounge for a few months.

"How are you so sure they both read it?" asked Motoko.

"Well, when Kitsune's not lounging down on the lounge couch, I am, and I tend to see one of the two flip through the pamphlets every so often," I explained. "But, that's just my theory on the situation. I make no guarantees that I'm right, but think about that for a while," I said as I walked back to the kitchen to try and salvage my ice cream float.

Two days later, Motoko and Mitsune were idly discussing the fact that the pair of Toudai hopefuls had gone on vacation to Kyoto. "Naru and Keitaro still aren't back yet…" said Mitsune.

"Did they really run away together?" asked Motoko.

"If they really did run away together, do you think they'd be back after only two days?" I asked.

"I doubt it, but still, they could've called…" said Mitsune.

"Doesn't matter," interjected Haruka. "They aren't kids anymore. We needn't worry."

"Isn't that being too irresponsible?" asked Motoko.

"I'm with Haruka on this one, just let them do whatever; it's none of our business," I said.

"Come on guys, lunchtime," said Haruka, urging us into the dining room.

As we walked into the dining room, I immediately noticed something wrong. "Hey, where's Su? She'd usually be bouncing up and down off her seat by now…"

"Come to think of it… this Shinobu doesn't cook T-bone steaks, does she?" asked Mitsune, giving a questioning glare towards our lunch.

"That's cuz I cooked it," I replied. "Shinobu asked me to cook lunch today… hold on, she hasn't shown up either," I stated after I started cutting pieces off my lunch.

"She'll be here eventually," said Motoko. As she said this, I noticed a little note under the salt shaker. I picked it up and looked it over. It said 'We went to go find them, Su. Shinobu's with me too!'

"Umm, you might wanna take that back," I said, handing her Su's note. Motoko read it and looked up.

"Them too?" asked Motoko.

"What are you talking about?" asked Mitsune. "Wait, did they leave to go find Keitaro and Naru?"

"Hit the nail right on the head," I said.

"Seriously…? Why is everyone like this? What is this?" questioned Mitsune.

"Jeez, never thought both Su and Shinobu'd leave without us with them," I commented.

"It's really worrisome, especially because they're still both kids!" exclaimed Mitsune.

"Especially Shinobu, secretly in love with Keitaro… if she so happened to meet the two…" ominously said Motoko.

"Waa! That would be terrible!" exclaimed Mitsune.

"Uh, Kitsune? What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"What should we do?" asked Motoko.

"I dunno about you, but I'm callin the police," I said, pulling out my phone.

"No… I've decided…" started Mitsune.

I looked at Motoko apprehensively, and she did the same. "What?" we both asked in unison.

"Meet me down in the lobby in 20 minutes packed like you're about to go on vacation!" ordered Mitsune as she rushed off to her room.

"Packed?" I asked as Motoko and I began to walk up to our rooms.

"You don't think she…" started Motoko.

"I have a feeling that's what she's planning," I said, not letting her finish. "I'll see you in a few minutes," I said to her as I walked down the second floor hallway. I opened the door to my room and pulled out my duffel bag from behind the couch I keep in my room. I went around my drawers; grabbing a few changes of clothes, a phone charger, and a wad of bills from the briefcase that odd hermit gave to me three months prior. Grabbing a black leather jacket, I hastily stuffed my things in my bag as I went down to the lobby. Motoko and Mitsune were already ahead of me, the both of them sporting a backpack with whatever they were bringing. Motoko also a conical straw hat on, presumably because she travels with that.

"Alright, now that we're all here, I propose we go get Shinobu and Su back ourselves!"

"Called it!" I exclaimed.

"I will not permit them to have all the fun to themselves!" exclaimed Mitsune. "We head off to Kyoto as well!"

"Seriously, waiting would be a better call, right?" I whispered to Motoko.

"I think so," whispered back Motoko.

"Would either of you happen to have travel fare?" asked Mitsune.

"I knew it'd be a good idea to take a wad of money with me…" I mused.

"Come on, either of you?" pressed Mitsune. "Alright, plan b; how good are you two at cutting carrots in midair?"

"Mitsune, I've got enough money to cover our travel fares," I piped in. "Don't make us put on a stupid show just to earn money," I pleaded.


	18. Chapter 18: Traveling Demon

I'm not sure why I keep hoping for reviews, but hey, reviews are nice. Criticism is always welcome as long as it doesn't outright bash this. If you wanna bash this, then fine, if you want to downright say this sucks, say why. If you want this deleted, keep dreaming. One person's wishes do not make things happen magically, if that makes sense. Anyways, I'm rambling, so I'll stop now.

***

A week later, the two girls and I finally made it to Kyoto. We never got lost, Mitsune just wanted to tour the other cities and engorge herself at the exotic restaurants.

"Alright! Let's eat here!" exclaimed Mitsune as she gestured towards a noodle shop.

"Kitsune, why are we doing this?" I asked.

"We're supposed to be looking for Urashima, but it seems as if we're doing this to eat exotic foods," said Motoko.

"Yeah, in Odawara, we had Kamaboko. In Hamanako, we ate eel. In Nagoya, we had Hamisokashi…" I started.

"Hey, these are cold noodles, but they look real tasty!" exclaimed Mitsune, not listening to whatever Motoko and I were saying.

"Hey! Pay attention when either of us are talking to you!" exclaimed Motoko.

"There's no problem; aside from enjoying this delicious food, my real objective is to get some news!" explained Mitsune.

"Wha?" I asked.

"Now, let's see what that restaurant has to offer!" exclaimed Mitsune, pointing at another restaurant.

"I don't think that she's really serious about finding Urashima, Naru, Shinobu, or Su…" Motoko whispered to me.

"Neither do I," I whispered back as we began to follow Mitsune into the restaurant.

About an hour later, we exited the restaurant, the girls with stomachs full of solid food, mine full of liquid. "Now wasn't that great?" cheerfully asked Mitsune.

"It was ok," said Motoko.

"Don't say that; I'll bet Chaos has some good words about the restaurant, right?"

"Alright, I'll say it again; I. Hate. Sushi." I said. The restaurant we went to was an all sushi bar, and I cannot eat sushi at all.

"Oh come on, it couldn't have been that bad," pressed Mitsune.

"Kitsune, unless you want a foul odor hanging around you later, I'd advise you to please keep the sushi away from me," I warned her.

"Point taken, now let's go!" exclaimed Mitsune.

"Go where?" asked Motoko.

"Please tell me it's a hotel room…" I pleaded.

"Nope! Another sushi bar!" exclaimed Mitsune.

"What the hell!? I just told you I can't eat sushi!" I exclaimed.

"Then don't eat!" protested Mitsune.

"Forget it, I'll just go check into a hotel," I said, walking over to a nearby inn.

"Fine then, we'll see you later, right Motoko?" said Mitsune. "Motoko?" asked Mitsune as she realized Motoko was no longer next to her.

"Wait for me, Chaos-kun!" called Motoko.

"You had enough of the food too?" I joked.

"I'm done for the day," Motoko replied.

"Fine, since neither of you are going with me, I guess I'll finish up for the day too…" grumbled Mitsune as she followed the two of us. Moments later, a little girl dressed similar to Red Riding hood came up and crashed into Motoko.

"Please… help me. There are some people after me!" pleaded the girl. The voice was familiar, but I'd figure it out later; if what this girl was saying is true, then she's about to be in a load of trouble.

"What?" asked Motoko.

"Hey… why are you running away from us?" asked a man who sounded like a Yakuza member. "Hey, lady, don't interfere and you won't get hurt," commanded the thug.

"What was that?" I said, threateningly.

"So you want to hurt people… is that it? What an unforgivable act!!" declared Motoko. She tossed her hat over to the side and unsheathed her sword. "Take this!" shouted Motoko as she dashed through the crowd of thugs, tossing them to the ground in pain. "Relax, I used the reverse edge of my sword…"

"You idiots were way out of your minds," I taunted. I turned to look at the little girl that pleaded to us for help and was met with Shinobu's small form, Su's not that far behind.

"MOTOKO!" cried an overjoyed Su as she latched herself onto Motoko.

"Ouch! Hey, Su, let go of me!" pleaded Motoko.

"Kitsune-san! Chaos-kun!" cried Shinobu as she latched herself on to me for dear life.

"Whoa there, Shin-chan, don't worry, we're here," I assured her.

"Yeah, everything is alright!" assured Mitsune.

"Hey, why are you guys also here?" asked Shinobu when she finally calmed down.

"Well, the official story was that we were looking for you two, but really, Kitsune just wanted to tour Japan's exotic restaurants," I explained.

"Hey, the two little ones were a priority!" defended Mitsune.

"If they were, then we would've been here earlier," Motoko pointed out.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! No need to rush things, right?" defended Mitsune.

"ANYWAYS," I said, hoping to stop the little fight that was going on. "Now that we're all here, the objective is to find Keitaro, right?" I pointed out.

"Right, now then, are they still in Kyoto?" asked Motoko.

"Nope!" chirped Su.

"How do you know?" I asked her.

"By using the tracking system on my computer, I have detected that they are currently somewhere around Okinawa!"

"In that case, the new destination is Okinawa!" I declared as I felt an ominous wind, not unlike the one I felt when Law had arrived at the dorm two months ago. "Actually, your destination is Okinawa," I corrected myself.

"Huh? Why? You're not coming with us?" asked Mitsune.

"I've, umm, got some unfinished business here," I said.

"Alright then, you take care of whatever you need, and we'll track down Urashima and Naru," said Motoko.

"In that case, Shinobu, do you have any money on you?" asked Mitsune.

"N-no…" said Shinobu sadly.

"Motoko, here, you're in charge of your group's funds," I said, handing her half of the wad of money I brought. Somehow, the wad didn't look all that diminished.

"Hey, why not me?" Mitsune asked.

"You're going to blow it all on exotic restaurants and alcohol!" pointed out Motoko.

"Yeah… you're probably right," conceded Mitsune.

"Alright then, when you've found the two runaways, contact me and we'll meet up there," I said, pointing to what looked like a dojo. I picked it because it looked easy to remember with large characters that spelled 'SHINMEI-RYU'.

"Th-there?!" asked Motoko in disbelief.

"There should be no problem, right?" I asked. "It _is_ your family's dojo, right?"

"Y-yes, it is. There's no problem, we'll meet you there after we've located Urashima and Naru," said Motoko as I parted ways with the group.

I began to wander around aimlessly, looking for the source of that ominous wind. I sat down on a bench at the Kyoto Botanical Garden an hour later, unsuccessful in my search. "Damn, what was that feeling…?" I mumbled to myself. "I coulda sworn I felt it…"

"Looks like you were in Kyoto after all!" called a voice that sounded like mine. I turned to look at the source of the voice and was met with a near perfect mirror image of me, aside from a more ragged look that was definitely a lot whiter than I was.

"Looks like we meet again Law, or should I say demon?" I called, gripping the handle of my blade.

"Hmph, let go of your blade; I have no intention of fighting you now," said Law.

"Look at that, the demon's being civil for once," I joked. "Then what do you want with me?"

"Hmph, this is where we shall fight," said Law as he tossed a piece of paper to me. I caught it and looked it over. It was a flyer for a Kendo tournament hosted by the Shinmei-Ryu dojo that was to happen tomorrow.

"Why here?"

"I'd like an audience when I kill you," said Law as he started walking away. "I suppose you wish to rid your brother of me, correct?"

"Of course, you bastard."

"Then I suppose you have no choice but to fight me here!" taunted Law as he somehow vanished from sight.

"Wait, dammit, come back!" I called. Damn, if I want that demon purged, I gotta purge it at the tournament. With no other plan in mind, I started marching towards the Shinmei-Ryu dojo to register.

"Hello, are you here to register for the annual Kendo tournament?" asked a woman who bore a striking resemblance to an older Motoko, even wearing a kendo uniform.

"Yes, yes I am," I replied.

"Then you'll need this," said the woman, handing me a registration form.

"Thank you," I said as I began filling out the form. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask away," said the woman.

"Ya see, I have a friend named Motoko Aoyama, and I was wondering why you looked so similar," I said while continuing to fill out the form.

"Oh, so you're friends with inoue-chan," said the woman.

"Inoue-chan? You're her older sister?" I asked, looking up.

"Indeed I am; Aoyama Tsuruko, acting head of the Shinmei-Ryu school at present," said Tsuruko.

"So you're Motoko's sister…" I muttered as I finished the form. "I just might have to ask you for a duel later," I joked as I handed her the form along with the entry fee of 1,000 yen.

"In that case, you'll have to win the tournament," said Tsuruko.

"What?" I asked.

"The prize of the tournament is 10,000 yen and a special duel with me," explained Tsuruko. "I expect great things from the man who claims to be friends with Motoko."

"If I do win, then don't hold back," I said. "I spar with Motoko regularly, so I don't think it'd be fair to hold back."

"Alright then," started Tsuruko. She looked down at the form and read through it for a minute. "The information you put down does say you're in the same school, class, and residence as Motoko, so I'll believe you, Argate-san," finished Tsuruko. "You're lucky you registered now."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Because this was the last spot for the tournament. This year's budget wasn't that great, so we had to downscale the tournament to 8 participants. That, and there's no announcer," explained Tsuruko. "Here, as entry number 8, this is yours," said Tsuruko as she handed me a small, folded piece of paper. "This is a map to the dojo. Your room is highlighted in silver," explained Tsuruko.

"So I'm going to be staying here for the duration of the tournament?" I asked.

"That is correct," said Tsuruko. "Oh, and you'll have to use a wooden sword for the tournament. We don't allow lethal weapons here," said Tsuruko. "If you go through that door, then you can take your pick from our selection of wooden swords. Or you could take a big chunk of wood over there and carve your own, if that's what you prefer."

"Alright then, thank you, Aoyama-san," I said as I grabbed a chunk of wood and headed over to my assigned room. "Oh, and one more thing," I said before I left the registration area.

"Yes?" asked Tsuruko.

"Why is this year's tournament downscaled?"

"I have more pressing matters to attend to this year; matters that attend to the next heir to the Shinmei-Ryu school," said Tsuruko.

"That makes sense, I suppose," I said. "Well, I'd best be off then," I said as I went to find my assigned room. I looked around the room when I opened the door and was disappointed to see that it had only a small table and a futon, but that was to be expected considering that I'm staying at a Kendo dojo that promoted making do with the bare necessities.

I dropped my duffel bag over to the side, tossed my jacket on top of it and sat down at the table, chunk of wood in one hand, carving knife in the other. I took out the Last Fencer and put it on the table so I could see exactly how I was to craft my wooden replica of my beloved blade. Whittling away at the wood, I kept myself occupied for a few hours until I finally finished the carving. I set the replica down parallel to the original to admire my handiwork. Aside from the bright color of the wooden replica, the overall design was the same and all that remained was to color the wooden carving if possible.

I grabbed my jacket and wallet and headed out of the dojo to find a restaurant that served something I hopefully would enjoy.

"Oh? Going somewhere?" asked Tsuruko, who I met along the way.

"Yeah, I'm going to buy some dinner, then maybe some paint for my wooden sword," I explained.

"Ok then, enjoy your meal," said Tsuruko as I walked away. Walking through the crisp night air of Kyoto, I let my mind wander during my search for a good restaurant.

"Hey! Chaos! Is that you!?" called a voice from behind me.

I gathered my thoughts and looked behind me and was greeted by the sight of my friend Shinji. "Whoa, Shinji!" I said in surprise. "What're you doin here?"

"Haha, I was here sightseeing for my Spring Break," explained Shinji as he walked over to me. "How 'bout you?"

"Well, remember my friend Keitaro?" I asked as we started walking.

"Who could forget? The man is like an anti-woman magnet!" my friend joked.

"That's one way of putting it," I quipped. "But yeah, he, along with another dorm resident, Naru, decided to go on vacation to Kyoto without telling anyone, not even each other," I started.

"So you decided to chase them?" asked Shinji.

"Not exactly," I said. "The two youngest dorm members decided to go off on their own to search for them. Then the oldest tenant decided that she wouldn't be left behind and miss the fun, so she dragged me and Motoko with her to Kyoto," I finished.

"Ya know, I understand what you're saying and all, but it'd help if you'd at least name or describe everyone," quipped Shinji. "In all seriousness though, you're saying that you're here on a rescue mission?"

"Pretty much," I said. "The two little ones have been found, and the rest of the group have began their search for Keitaro and Naru," I finished.

"And you're still here, why?"

"I had some unfinished business."

"Well, I won't ask any further. So what'cha doin now?"

"Lookin for a restaurant," I answered.

"Ooh, follow me!" exclaimed Shinji as he started walking down an alley. "I know this really good American Steakhouse around here," explained Shinji as I caught up with him.

"Ok, but do we have to go down an alley?" I complained.

"It's a shortcut, don't worry," assured Shinji. "Besides, if anyone were to jump you, you'd easily take care of them!"

"Yeah, but still…"

"It's not that bad, look, we're out already!" said Shinji as he pointed at the end of the alleyway.

"None too soon I might add. I freaking hate going through alleys!"

"What's the problem? It's just a dark hallway where it's easy to get cornered… ooh, I see now," said Shinji.

"Let's just get to that restaurant," I urged him.

"Fine, fine, it's right here," said Shinji as we walked up to a stereotypical American steakhouse.

"You said this place was really good, right?"

"I ate here yesterday and the first thing I thought after I left was that you'd love it here," grinned Shinji.

"Great! I'm lookin forward to a T-bone!" I exclaimed.

"Well, it was nice seein ya here," said Shinji.

"You're not coming?"

"Nah, I already ate. Hey, your birthday's in a few days, right?"

"That it is, my friend,"

"Here you go," said Shinji as he handed me about 5000 yen. "This should cover dinner. Think of it as a birthday present."

"You're just saying that because you don't wanna buy me anything," I joked.

"Haha, hit the nail right on the head!" chuckled Shinji. "I'll see ya back at school, later!" he said as he left. Shinji's an awesome guy to hang around, he knows just how people tick and what they like. I smiled to myself as I walked into the steakhouse.


	19. Chapter 19: Die is Cast

Crimson, if you've been looking forward to the battle between the twins, then this is what you're looking for. Though I kinda think I coulda done better though. To anyone reading, might I suggest playing music during the battle? I recommend The Decisive Battle, by S.S.H., but feel free to put whatever. I hope that you keep on reading whatever I put out here.

***

"Well then, it looks like we've made it to the finals!" announced Tsuruko. When she said they had a low budget, she wasn't kidding; Tsuruko herself had to ready the whole tournament, announce, and advertise it herself. "Standing tall from the Hinata Dorms of Tokyo, we have the Lone Warrior, Chaos Argate!" announced Tsuruko as she gestured towards me.

"Let's finish this!" I exclaimed. The two matches I was in prior to this were easy; I barely broke a sweat. "Did you really have to give us these inane titles though?"

"It excites the viewers," explained Tsuruko.

"What viewers?" I criticized.

"Opposing Argate-san is his twin brother, the White Phantasm, Law Argate!" announced Tsuruko as she gestured towards Law, ignoring me at the same time.

I glanced over at Law to see that he was staring daggers right into my face. "Aoyama-san, may I request the use of regular swords for this round?" asked Law.

"I'd say no, but I've heard that you two have a history of fighting with each other with lethal weapons, so go ahead," said Tsuruko.

"This'll be fun," I muttered, unsheathing the Last Fencer and replacing its place in the sheath with the wooden replica.

"Today's the day I finally kill you!" called Law.

"Go ahead and try," I taunted.

"And begin!" declared Tsuruko, stepping away from the forest clearing we were fighting in.

"AKU HIEN SHUNRENZAN!" cried Law as he attempted to dash through me.

"Not this time!" I called as I stepped out of the way. "Try this on for size!" I shouted, surging energy into my blade; enough energy for me to grasp a stream of energy and use it as another sword. "Majiwara zarishi inochi ni," I started as I rushed in for an attack. "Ima mo tarasaren setsuna no kiseki," I continued as I went on with several slashes. "Toki wo hete…" I stopped my barrage for a moment, luring Law into a false sense of security as he staggered to his feet. "Koko ni yuugou seshi mirai he no taidou!" I finished as I rushed in and lifted Law up using my two swords. "GISHOUKEN!" I shouted, bringing my swords down in a crescent strike. I was absolutely sure that this would work, but somehow, the swords just bounced right off and the second blade dissipated again. "Wh-what the?" I said in disbelief.

"You honestly think you can finish me off with a weak attack like that?" taunted Law. "I'll show you true power!" shouted Law as he raised a dark aura for a few seconds, lifting me up momentarily, then lifting me up higher. "Get out of my sight…" he continued as he flung me to the ground. "And begone!" he finished as he charged through me.

"Tch, damn, that was strong…" I muttered while hopping to my feet. I was glad I decided to learn how to not have my attack drain my energy when I used it.

"How can you still be standing?" wondered Law. I grinned and swooped in for a few attacks. "Ensenga!" I shouted as I knocked him to the air, spinning my blade to continually hit and keep him in the air. After about 3 full rotations of my sword, I kicked him higher into the air, then jumped up to meet him in the air. "Souhajin!" I called as I released a blast of azure energy towards him, sending him into the ground. As I landed and he started standing, I dashed forward, letting two slashes connect with Law before I vanished from sight of the others. I reappeared again from another angle, slashing twice again when I came up to Law. I kept up these slashes for a while until I ultimately finished with a final dash through Law, creating a giant vortex of energy that entrapped Law inside for a few seconds.

"Rgg, I'm not done yet!" declared Law as he came in to attack. I successfully parried each attack he threw at me, getting in a counterattack after each and every one. "RAH!" cried Law as a phantasm of him appeared behind me.

"What the-!" I shouted in surprise as the phantasm aimed an upwards slash at me. "Shugohoujin!" I shouted as I plunged my sword to the ground after narrowly dodging a slash. The aura of the Shugohoujin dispelled the phantasm, but the real Law jumped right over it, aimed his sword down, and propelled himself down.

"DIE!" exclaimed Law.

"Crap!" I exclaimed as I plucked my sword and rolled away. "Whoa, almost got me," I mused as I got on my feet.

"I'm not done yet!" cried Law as more phantasms of him appeared behind me. "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THIS!" shouted Law as he and the copies of him swarmed me. Each of them all started swinging their swords at me, narrowly missing their mark, but with each missed slash, I got closer and closer to being hit by the next one. "Just give up! You have no chance!"

"No…!" I shouted, finally knocking away one slash. This act apparently stunned the other copies as they all stopped. "I will not… LOOOOOOSE!!!" I cried as I let out a tremendous roar. I felt rejuvenated as I saw a giant golden column erupt from around me, uplifting me and destroying the copies of Law upon contact.

"N-no… No way…" mumbled Law in disbelief as he saw the golden aura of my desperation attack. "There's no way… there's no way that I will LOSE!" declared Law as he rushed me again.

"Not a chance!" I shouted, holding my blade in front of me to guard. "Your turn!" I shouted, aiming a few quick slashes at Law.

"Go to hell!" shouted Law as he matched each one of my slashes with one that met it at a perpendicular angle (AN: Chaos slashes vertically, Law slashes horizontally for those who don't know).

"Right after you!" I shouted back, leaping away from Law after quite a few parried slashes.

"Haa… haa…" panted Law. "There's no possible way that you could have grown strong enough to win… There's just no way!" denied Law.

"Now then, I think this has gone on far too long…" I started as I dashed towards Law. "Let's finish this!" I called as I stopped in front of him. I leaped into the air and aimed my sword down. "Shugo Hyousoujin!" I exclaimed as I thrust my sword into the ground.

"What's this…? GAH!" shouted Law as he became entrapped in ice.

"Shugo Hyousoujin, an upgraded form of Shugohoujin that encases whatever falls in its range in ice. Perfect for me to finish you!" I declared as I started up my demon purging attack again. This time, when I got to "GISHOUKEN!" in my speech, the attack finally connected, Law being knocked away, a spirit being left in his place. "This is the end…" I started, rearing back for an attack. "Scatter! Majin Rengokusatsu!" I finished, charging through the demon, killing it.

"Brilliant!" clapped Tsuruko. I nearly forgot this was at a tournament in Kyoto. "The winner of the Kendo tournament is Chaos Argate!" I started feeling prideful of my accomplishment, both for winning the tournament, and for freeing Law from the demon's influence. "As promised, here is your 10,000 yen, and tomorrow, a special duel with me," said Tsuruko.

"Alright then, Aoyama-san. Now, if you'll excuse me… I'd like to remain here for a while," I said, walking over to Law. The hours passed and Tsuruko had left. By sunset, I began to grow weary of waiting. "Dude, wake up!" I said, rapping on Law's head with the wooden Last Fencer.

"I don't wanna," replied the haggard form of my brother. "Let me sleep! I don't wanna train today!"

"Dude, we're no longer a part of the Majin Shinsetsu school," I informed him.

"We aren't?" asked Law, springing up. "Whoa, what happened? You look much older than you did last night…"

"Do you remember anything about stealing the sacred sword of the Majin Shinsetsu school?" I asked.

"Stealing the Soul Crush…? Wait, I do remember that, and then I blacked out… Oh crap! What year is it?" frantically asked Law as his eyes widened.

"2009," I replied. "You've been on a path of destruction after stealing the Soul Crush; you were the one that destroyed the Majin Shinsetsu school."

"No way… the rumors of a demon living inside the sword were true…"

"I've killed the demon; the sword is just a sword now. At least I think it is…"

"Where is it?"

"I think it landed somewhere over here?" I said, looking at where I thought I saw the Soul Crush land. "What the hell?" I asked, picking up the sword. It no longer had its original form; the sword became smaller in width, the 'heel' of the sword becoming less pronounced. There now was a green gem in place of a hilt and it didn't radiate an ominous energy when I approached it, unlike when it did five years ago. The color of the sword also changed; the majority of the sword took on a crimson red appearance and the small, vine-like decorations were charcoal black. The sword also appeared to be smaller than the Last Fencer as well.

"I don't remember the sword looking like that," commented Law, wearing a puzzled face. "Wait, do you remember the stories of what would happen to the sword when its true owner has been found?"

"Yeah, it would undergo a metamorphosis into a form preferred by its master… wait, could this mean…?"

"You must be the Soul Crush's master if it changed for you…" said Law.

"Well, there's one other way to check if it belongs to me now. Here, hold this," I said, extending the Soul Crush to Law.

"Like hell! That sword has brought me nothing but tragedy and ruin! I'm not touching that thing!"

"Alright fine, be that way," I said as I heard my phone ring. I fished it out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was Mitsune. "Hold on, I have to take this," I said, flipping my phone open. "Hello?"

"Chaos-kun, mission accomplished," said Motoko. "We're on our way to the Shinmei-Ryu dojo now."

"Alright, hey, you guys wouldn't mind staying one night there, would you?" I asked.

"Huh? Why?" asked Motoko.

"You know that your school hosts a Kendo tournament, right?" I asked.

"Yes, I entered the junior division one year and came out as the victor."

"I ran into Law here, I entered the tournament to fight him, and I won."

"You're this year's champ?" Motoko asked, a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"That, and Law is no longer under the influence of the demon."

"That's great! So, why do you need us to stay a day there?"

"Because one of the prizes is a special duel with your sister," I answered.

"A-aneue?" asked Motoko, more disbelief in her voice.

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"N-no, there shouldn't be. I will inform the others. I'll see you then," said Motoko as she hung up.

"Alright then, let's go back to the dojo," I said, slinging the Soul Crush over my shoulder.

"Dojo?" asked Law.

"Ya see, while the demon possessed you, he challenged me to a duel on the terms that I enter a tournament that was being hosted by the Shinmei-Ryu school. The finals of that tournament were me against you, and since you finally have control of yourself again, I won," I explained.

"I see, well let's go. I just wanna go lie down right now," said Law.

"I'm with you there," I said as we started walking towards the dojo. "Tch, now I gotta make a sheath to store the Soul Crush…" I grumbled to myself before the blood red blade vanished from my grip. "H-hey, it's gone!" I cried in surprise.

"What are you talking about? Aren't you holding it?" asked Law as he turned to look at me. "Holy crap! It is gone!"

"This isn't good…" I mumbled as I tried to remember how I lost it. I was thinking of making a sheath for the sword to store it and then it vanished. Wait, does it appear and disappear according to my thoughts? I quickly scrolled through a list of words in my mind that pertained to making the sword reappear. Sure enough, the Soul Crush appeared in my left hand as soon as I willed it to.

"Hey, how'd you do that?" asked Law as he saw I was holding the Soul Crush.

"Apparently I can make the sword appear at will now," I explained as we continued our march to the dojo. Tsuruko was there to greet us as we arrived.

"Hello there, Argate-san," she greeted. She turned to Law and greeted him to. "Argate-san. You seem a little different," said Tsuruko.

"Yeah, he was possessed by a demon, purged it at the last part of the finals, and do you mind if a group of about five people spend a night here?"

"No, the other combatants have cleaned out, so there should be plenty of room," said Tsuruko as I saw the other residents of the Hina dorms show up from behind a corner.

"And here they are," I said, pointing behind Tsuruko.

"Hello Chaos-kun, Aneue-chan," said Motoko.

"This is a nice place," commented Mitsune.

"Oh? Imouto? This is unexpected," said Tsuruko.

"I didn't plan this either, but things happen," shrugged Motoko.

"Are you here to take over the school now?" asked the elder sister.

"N-no! I'm only here at Chaos's request," said the younger sister.

"We'll leave you two to get caught up," interrupted Mitsune as she got the group of girls, Keitaro, Law, and I moving away. After we had gotten a safe distance away from the two masters of Shinmei-Ryu, Law started talking.

"So, umm, who are you guys?" asked Law. "I know that Cha-" Law was interrupted as Naru launched a huge punch at Law's jaw.

"Take that, you bastard!" shouted Naru.

"OWW!! What did I do?" asked Law as he rubbed his jaw to soothe the pain.

"You of all people should know what you did to me!" seethed Naru.

"Naru, you do realize that Law wasn't accountable for his actions while he was possessed by the demon, right?" I said.

"He's not possessed anymore?" asked Naru. I shook my head. "Ooh, sorry about that, but it did feel good."

"Yeah, how about you please don't do that to me again," said Law.

"I won't if I don't have to," said Naru.

"What was that?" said Law, raising his voice.

"Calm down Law, there's no need to get mad at anyone here, we don't need you harming people without influence," I said, trying to quell the fight.

"OOH! You look like Chaos! Are you as fun as Chaos?" asked Su as she latched on to Law.

"Gah! Hey, what are you-!?" shouted Law as he vainly tried to shake Su off of his back. "Chaos?" asked Law.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"May I throw this little girl off me at least?" asked a very annoyed Law.

"Su, get off of Chaos's brother!" exclaimed Shinobu.

"You're not gonna hop on me too, are you?" asked Law.

"N-no!" replied Shinobu.

"Come on, Shinobu, its fun up here!" exclaimed Su.

"Hey, hey, hey, get off me!" shouted Law as he tried to shake Su off.

"Eh, sorry about that, Su usually latches on to Motoko, and she's not here so…" said Mitsune.

"Here Su, have a banana," said Keitaro, pulling a banana out of his bag.

"OOH! Gimmegimmegimme!" shouted Su as she literally spring boarded off of Law and snatched the banana out of Keitaro's hand.

"I'll ask again; who are these people? I remember Keitaro, but who are the girls?" asked Law.

"Sorry about that, umm, the brunette that attacked your jaw is Naru; the little girl who latched on to you is Su; the other little girl is Shinobu; and the last one's Mitsune, but she likes to be called Kitsune," I said, gesturing to the girls as I said their name.

"Alright, then why did you attack me?" Law asked, turning to Naru.

"You sent me to the freakin hospital! That's why!" seethed Naru.

"What she means is that when you were possessed by the demon, a day after New Years, you came to the dorms to try and kill me. You failed, obviously, but you got Naru hospitalized," I explained.

"I did- I'm sorry, Naru-san, please forgive me," pleaded Law, who got down on his knees.

"Hmph, fine, but only because you're Chaos's twin," said Naru.

"Thank you," gratefully said Law.

"What's going on? Is Argate-san proposing to someone?" asked Tsuruko, who mysteriously appeared behind me along with Motoko.

"Whoa! Aoyama-san! Don't scare me like that, please," I said. "You're talking about Law, right?"

"Of course I am. He's the one on his knees," said Tsuruko.

"Aoyama-san?" asked Law, getting up to his feet. "Can I ask something about the Shinmei-Ryu school?"

"Of course," said Tsuruko.

"How rigorous is the training?" asked Law.

"The training is very vigorous, why? Are you interested in becoming a Shinmei-Ryu pupil?" asked Tsuruko.

"I want to walk a path of redemption for my past actions," solemnly said Law.

"But that was the demon's actions," said Keitaro.

"And the demon possessed me because I stole the Soul Crush, so I feel like I need to atone for my actions," explained Law.

"Very well, your training begins in two days," said Tsuruko.

"Thank you, Aoyama-san!" thanked law.

"Not Aoyama-san, Aoyama-sensei," corrected Tsuruko as she started smiling.

"Right… Aoyama-sensei," said Law, also smiling.


	20. Chapter 20: The Flying Turtle

Arigato, Crimson-san ^_^. It's nice to hear that the battle which took a little over a third of the whole chapter was good, although I'm kinda sorry to dissapoint you about Chaos's birthday, cuz it ultimately didn't make the cut and was scrapped. I was trying to write it, but it ended up as a bunch of filler, and that's not exactly what I'm looking for. And Law will eventually make appearances from time to time; whenever he can take leave from Tsuruko, he's gonna somehow show up wherever Chaos ends up somehow. Before I forget, I'm not showing the duel with Tsuruko either; I had no inspiration for that, so there's a little bit here that gives a very brief overview of the duel. I think I'm done rambling, so enjoy the chapter.

***

A few days had passed since we had returned from Kyoto. Tsuruko completely dominated me in our duel, but I managed to strike a scant few times, somehow impressing both Aoyama sisters. Tsuruko was impressed because I showed a mastery of the sword equal to that of Motoko. Motoko was impressed just because I managed to land a hit. Impressing Tsuruko in our duel was how I obtained a new Katana that was around the same length as my left elbow to my right hand if both are outstretched in one line.

Somewhere along their trip, Keitaro and Naru somehow picked up a 'flying turtle' as a pet. The thing was pretty cute; most of the girls thought so too. Su kept trying to eat it though, which really seemed to freak out Shinobu. Speaking of Shinobu, sometime after we got back, on my birthday, she picked up a habit of calling me oniisan. I don't really mind though; I'm actually flattered that Shinobu thinks of me as an older brother. Speaking of my birthday, it was pretty damn fun; I had everyone in a little cooking competition and we all cooked omelets. Su put curry in hers and it somehow knocked Mitsune out cold; Motoko's was plain, no, plain is an understatement. Motoko's was tasteless; Naru's didn't look so pretty, but it still tasted pretty good; Keitaro's was a simple omelet, nothing special; Shinobu's was clearly the best one, mine coming in for a close second.

"We're home!" I called to no one in particular. I just returned home from school with Motoko and Shinobu in the middle of whatever problem Keitaro and Naru had gotten themselves into. Shinobu doesn't go to the same school Motoko and I go to, but some days we meet up at the train station and all come back together.

"Dinner is at 6 you guys," said Shinobu with a smile as we entered the main lobby of the dorm.

"We know," I replied with a smile. "What we don't know is what's for dinner?"

"Hmm, I haven't decided yet, but I know you guys will like it," replied Shinobu.

"When have we not liked your food?" asked Motoko.

"Ah, touché," I whimsically replied as Shinobu and I parted ways with Motoko for the time being. Motoko continued up the stairs to the third floor and Shinobu and I remained on the second. I was about to walk into my room when I was stopped by the pair of Toudai rejects.

"Chaos-kun!" exclaimed Keitaro.

"Whoa, you guys look exhausted," I commented as I looked over their slightly sweat-stained figures.

"Not important," stated Naru. "May we look around your room?"

"Huh? Why?" I asked.

"We lost our flying turtle and it flew into your room," said Keitaro.

"Go right ahead, though I find it hard to believe you lost a turtle," I joked as I opened the door to my room. True to their word, the flying turtle in question was in here, lounging on my couch. "Guys, I think I found your turtle."

"What? Where?" the two asked in unison.

"Right there on my couch," I pointed to the middle of my couch, where I saw the turtle only moments earlier. "What the-? Where'd it go?" I asked aloud.

"There!" shouted Naru, pointing to my little TV set up. The turtle flew under the TV stand and vanished from sight.

"Haha! We've got it now!" exclaimed Keitaro.

"WAAAAAAAAAH!" was a scream heard not even a minute after Keitaro finished his sentence.

"Huh?" questioned Naru.

"That's Shinobu-chan's scream!" declared Keitaro.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I asked, bolting out of my room. Without hesitation, I threw open Shinobu's door. "Shin-chan!" I called.

"Are you alright?!" called Keitaro.

Shinobu latched herself on to me, again, as if for dear life. "ONIISAN!" she cried. "That… the… there's something…" cried Shinobu as she pointed somewhere in her room. She just then realized that she was dressed in little more than an undershirt, and immediately covered herself up. "KYAAA!" cried Shinobu as she did this. Naru made a motion as if she was going to hit Keitaro, but I grasped her arm mid-swing.

"Not the time, Naru," I stated. "We have more important things to worry about," I said, grabbing Shinobu's blanket and tossing it to her. After she was decently covered up, Shinobu started babbling like if she was in a trance.

"There was… there was something just now…" babbled Shinobu.

"Relax, will you?" asked Naru. "Where is this thing?"

"There!" shouted Shinobu as she pointed up to a hole in the ceiling.

"Up to the ceiling?" I asked. "That thing's freakin fast," I commented.

"Could it be an alien?" fearfully asked Shinobu.

"Don't worry, Shin-chan, there are no aliens here," I assured her.

"Alright, let's plan our next move," declared Keitaro, taking out a scrap of paper. It was a map of the dorm that clearly showed all the rooms and if they belonged to anyone.

"I didn't realize that Hinata-sou was so big…" commented Naru as she looked at the map.

"Su's room and Motoko's room is above Shinobu's," stated Keitaro. "Which one do we check first?"

"Hmm, the turtle flew up the ceiling along the wall that separates my room and Shinobu's, so I'd say Motoko's room first," I thought aloud. "Let's go!" I shouted, again, bolting out of the room. Motoko was conveniently on this floor, about to knock on my door. "Motoko! This is an odd coincidence!" I exclaimed, getting the Kendo master's attention.

"Hmm? Chaos-kun? What are you talking about?" asked Motoko.

"Motoko, can we see your room for a little bit?" asked Keitaro.

"The two Toudai hopefuls there lost the flying turtle and the most likely place it's in now is your room, unfortunately," I explained.

"What? Flying turtle?" asked Motoko. The five of us (Keitaro, Naru, Motoko, Shinobu, and me) began walking up the stairs to the third floor.

"Is there a problem, Motoko?" asked Naru. "Oh! I know! Your room is a mess, isn't it?" accused Naru.

"No… no… that's not it…" said Motoko in what was barely more audible than a whisper. "P-please, come in…" said Motoko, sliding her door open. We all marched in, looking around Motoko's room.

"Wow, nice place ya got here," I commented. "It was decorated very nicely; with a Kendoka's suit of armor hanging in a recess in the wall; a wall scroll overlooking a little shrine for her katana, which learned was called the Shisui (the name is inscribed on the scroll); and a little tatami mat corner that strongly resembled a traditional Japanese home. "Somehow, I always imagined your room looking like this," I commented. We began our search for the turtle; Shinobu, Keitaro, and Naru looking around the room for the turtle, Motoko frantically looking around uncharacteristically. I started searching along the wall that separated Su's room and Motoko's. "Over here!" I called to the others. I pointed down at some kind of liquid on the otherwise dry floor.

"It's a trail…" commented Keitaro.

"Motoko-chan, come over and look…" I started.

"WAA…!!" shouted Motoko. "Hey, don't touch me!" exclaimed Motoko as she turned around. She looked in fear as she realized what was touching her. None of us were within five feet of her, except for the turtle. "Huh?" fearfully whispered Motoko.

"I think we found it…" I quietly stated.

"KYAAAAAAAAAA!!" screeched Motoko. "Get-it-off-get-it-off-GET-IT-OFF!" shouted Motoko as she dived for the floor. "I'm afraid of turtles!" The turtle bounced up when Motoko dived, so she was relieved as it got off.

"Calm down, Motoko!" I exclaimed. Unfortunately, I don't think that was possible, as the turtle bounced up and landed back on her shoulder. To be exact, it crawled into the back of her gi.

"No…" whimpered Motoko. "Don't… KYAA! IT'S IN MY GI!" shouted Motoko. She regained her composure and drew the Shisui from its resting place. "Damn you…!" shouted Motoko. "MAKOUJIN!" shouted Motoko as she slammed her blade into the floor, unleashing a wave of energy in a circle around her that had no effect on the turtle whatsoever. It did manage to send Keitaro flying though. "Ah…" whimpered Motoko as she fell back.

"Motoko!" I exclaimed, catching her as she fainted. I motioned for Shinobu to come closer to me. When she did, I lay Motoko down on Shinobu's lap. "Shinobu, take care of Motoko!" I said when I saw the turtle fly off yet again.

"She escapes again!" exclaimed Naru as we gave chase to it.

"Where'd he go?" asked Keitaro as we left Motoko's room.

I looked around and saw it slip away into what looked like a closet. "There!" I said, pointing into the room. We stormed in, only to find that we had to crawl the rest of the way through.

"What is this?" questioned Naru as she tried to see where we were. It was pitch black, but the outlines of everything was visible.

"This stuff seems kinda odd…" I commented.

"Where are we going?" asked Keitaro.

"Outside maybe?" I wondered as I saw what looked like daylight. "What the hell?" I asked as we exited the crawlspace. We were now in the midst of a dense jungle. "Where the hell are we?" No one answered that question because we all heard a faint rustling sound in the bush next to us.

"Yoohoo!" called Su as she poked her face through the bush.

"AAAH!" cried Keitaro. "Oh, it's Su…" said Keitaro in relief.

"This is Su's room, isn't it?" asked Naru.

"Pretty freaky," I commented.

"Not bad, isn't it?" asked Su. "It's like living in the wilderness!"

"Is this your computer?" asked Keitaro, looking at a very conspicuous shelf. "Cool, this one looks recent."

"Whoa, a Wii!" commented Naru.

"What's so special about all that stuff?" I asked. "That stuff's all over Japan, right?" I asked as I set my eyes on a Famicom. "Now this is something not so easy to find," I said, holding up the system.

"Oh yeah, did you see Torikame fly into this room?" asked Keitaro.

"Torikame?" I asked.

"Yeah, the turtle," said Naru. "Tori means bird, kame means turtle, the turtle flies, it's a bird turtle," explained Naru.

"I saw it," said Su. She pointed off to a little tub where Torikame lounged. "He's over there.

"I see," I said.

"Finally, we found him…" sighed Keitaro in relief.

"The water's a bit warm for him, don't you think…?" asked Naru, sticking her finger in the water. It was then we all noticed the vegetables stewing in the water with Torikame.

"Wait-a-minute…. THIS IS A COOKING POT!" I exclaimed in shock.

"Do you guys want some?" cheerfully asked Su.

"MIIII!" shouted the turtle as it flew out of the pot.

"Not again!?" I shouted, chasing after the turtle.

"WAAAAIIT!! We won't eat you!" called Keitaro.

"Jeez, where the hell does he keep flying away to…" I mused as Keitaro, Naru and I descended the stairs to the basement.

"What is this place?" asked Naru.

"I didn't know there was a place like this down here…" said Keitaro.

"Hey! Torikame! Where are you?!" I called. "Hey, don't you guys think it's a bit humid down here?" I asked. It was true; it was very hot down in the basement.

"There's your answer, look!" exclaimed Naru, pointing at a hot spring. "There's a hot spring here!" Naru stopped to think. "Hmm… I don't think she's here…" said Naru after some thought.

"Then why don't we stop looking for him. He will come back, right?" asked Keitaro.

"Can I ask why you two call the turtle both he and she?" I asked.

The two ronin looked at each other, then at me. "We don't know which one it is," they answered in unison.

"Besides, we have to find my watch!" demanded Naru, starting an argument with Keitaro.

"Why-" started Keitaro before I cut him off.

"If you have the time to argue about something, you have the time to look for the turtle," I interjected. "We barely looked down here," I pointed out. "It would be a waste to just come down here and barely do anything."

"But how are we going to look? We can barely see!" pointed out Naru.

"Leave that to me," I said. "Stand back!" I commanded. The two stepped back until they were at least five feet away. I called forth the Soul Crush and plunged it into the ground. "SHUGOHOUJIN!" I exclaimed as the bright aura surrounded the blade. I left the blade in place and looked around the basement. "Much better," I declared as the basement was lit up to a point where a flashlight was unneeded. "Now then, shall we begin looking?"

I walked over to the edge of the water behind Naru to inspect to see if the turtle had been near it. "FOUND HIM!" exclaimed Keitaro as he dived to try and reach the turtle. Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize what he was diving into as he unwittingly tackled Naru and I into the water.

"GAH!" I shouted.

"WAAAA!" shouted Keitaro.

"IDIOT!" shouted Naru. I saw the turtle swim through the water away from our entry point, so Keitaro gave chase. I started chasing Keitaro to pull him back, with Naru gripping on to my leg, possibly hoping that I could get her out of the water faster. Seconds later, I saw what the turtle was swimming towards; a spot of daylight. Keitaro continued his chase until he broke the surface of the water, Naru and I following close.

"I GOT HIM!!" declared Keitaro as he grasped Torikame. Naru and I surfaced and we took note of where we were. I took in the surroundings more gravely than her because we were in the main hot springs. When all the girls were bathing.

After narrowly avoiding death from Motoko; Keitaro, Su, Naru, and I were looking at an owner's guide to turtles. "Here!" exclaimed Su, pointing at a paragraph next to a picture of our turtle. "This is a very rare creature, usually found in volcanic places. Commonly called "Onsen Kame," read Su. "Bathe it at least once every day, the turtle has a natural preference for hot springs," concluded Su.

"So we got your watch back, and Torikame is safe…" said Keitaro.

"Yep," smiled Naru.

"Are we really gonna call it 'Torikame'?" I asked.

"If we have no other names, then yes," said Keitaro. "Why?"

"Torikame doesn't really roll off the tongue," I said.

"Then you give her a name," challenged Naru.

"Ok then…" I said as I thought of a name. "How about… Tamago?" I asked.

"Tamago… I like it!" declared Keitaro.

"Yeah, Tamago's a good name," said Naru.

"Alright! From now on, this turtle's name is Tamago!" I declared. "Though we still need to see if it's a girl or a boy," I commented.


End file.
